I forgot whom I had loved even when I was young.
Some who have ever loved me, are away from home
to places where they should go.
For all my life I keep forgetting, so as to hold myself
away from old age.
I am poor at arithmetic, hence the balance of my life.
I was raised up by no one, only my fingers and lips
looking for relatives lost.
"When I was ten years old, did you love me?
At the age of twenty, did you love me?"
I need to prepare my shock of white hair and a kind smile
before I come to the answer.
I will be more and more like a mother.
About the author:
Su Ci Ci is a poet and the author of the collection of nouvelle and short stories The Ninth Night and the essay anthology The One Person Hospital. Her works appear in various major Chinese literature magazines and anthologies. She has won a number of prizes for poetry.