敬致一友善的陌生人

當我和不懌的老妻，

同赴遠地，

拜訪了一位政府官吏。

已是中午時分，

就在柏維迪，

走進博克大叔的餐館裡。

食物很可口。

女侍很客氣。

讓我們非常驚奇，

是當我付賬時，

有人已代為付訖！

我不知道，

是什麼道理，

你代我把飯錢付訖。

是出於同情？

看到我們的親密？

還是純粹出於友誼？

你不知道，

你的善意，

對我有多大的意義。

作為一個不熟悉的外國人，

笨笨的也怪怪的，

總是覺得不如人也不如意。

而你是位匿名的陌生人。

收賬員甚至不願意

透露你是男還是女。

我們是素昧生平，

從未相見，

也不太可能再行相遇。

你真是個好心人哪！

我以後怎麼報答你呢？

會有別人代我感謝你嗎？

願上天永遠祝福你！

今天我重回此地，

把此詩拜託女侍，

轉交給你，

以表謝意。

以後我會把它

會同我的其他詩歌

出版一本詩集，

以紀念此一事體。

多謝了！

我的陌生朋友！

也多謝這個可愛的國家！

誠心希望，

全世界與全人類，

也都能如此友善與融洽！

此事發生於06/09/2004，

我重回該地於06/16/2004，

此詩定稿並中譯於06/09/2014。

英文原詩附後，

並請批評指正。

  To a Friendly Stranger

After I visited a distant officer

with my dismal old dear,

we entered Uncle Buck’s Diner,

at noon, in Belvidere.

The waitress was gracious.

The delicacies were delicious.

What a great surprise,

when I went to the cashier

to pay our dishes --

Somebody had paid for us!

I don’t know

what’s the reason

you paid our meal:

Out of sympathy,

saw our intimacy,

or just to be friendly?

You can’t know

what your deed

means to me:

As an unfamiliar foreigner,

awkward also very weird,

always feeling inferior.

And you are an

anonymous stranger.

The cashier even refused

to disclose your gender.                       

We had never met each other.

We won’t once more encounter!

What a good-hearted person you are!

How can I ever thank you hereafter?

May other people treat you for me later?

May Heavenly Lord bless you forever!

Today, I drive the same way

back to this place,

to present this poem to the waitress;

entrust her to pass it to you,  

to repay your grace.

Someday later,              

together with my other verses,

it will be published,

as a collaged collection,

to commemorate this event.*

Many thanks,

my stranger friend  

and this lovely country.

May the whole world

and all the people

be as friendly?

* The event happened on June 9, 2004.

I revisited the diner on June 16 the same year.

This poem was translated into Chinese on June 9, 2014