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  ChiCheng Hsu

  Writer at SCT ltd co.

  Father’s Taboo Hsu ChiCheng
  
  Little does one think Father’s taboo in those years
  Has become a famous school in the present world
  
  Father has not finished his primary school
  He is nothing short of a countryside farmer
  Honest and good-natured, not much of a talker
  He is often held in derided by glib tongues
  But he has different opinions from other people
  Particularly he says the wall is unsuitable for pasting scrips
  Or the wall is besmeared
  In case of much scrawling, it may be a big flowery face
  Particularly he says plastic bags shall not be buried under the earth
  Since they refuse to rotten or decompose
  And will hamper the growth of crops, good harvest is not guaranteed
  If burned, there is to be poisonous gas
  Particularly he says fire and lamps are to be turned out in time
  Otherwise family expenditure is to increase
  This is his taboo, and nobody shall be against it
  
  Father has departed from the world for over three decades
  Yet influenced by Father since my childhood, I abide by his taboo
  But I was hit and beaten
  When I tore down adlets in the staircase and stairway
  An old lady of the fourth floor reprimanded me for marring their business
  And pasted a notice on the doorplate of the stairway:
  He who tears down the adlets are to have his hands and feet broken
  But later she was beaten with palms for encouraging people to tear down adlets with money by the office
  In broad daylight, I turned out the light in the stairway
  But was cursed by another neighbor
  Once I went out, he stopped me and wanted to beat me
  And I tamed him with my fist-boxing taught by Father in my childhood
  Since then he kept silent out of fear
  
  Father has not finished his primary school
  He is no expert
  He cannot utter imposing words such as environment protection and energy-saving and low carbon
  In the world there are many people whose words speak louder than their action
  But my father does more than he boasts
  But what he has done in those years
  Has become a famous school in the present world
  I do not know what has become of the world

World of Poets 2014/2/17

中文原詩如后:

父親的禁忌    許其正

沒想到父親當年的禁忌

已成了當今世界的顯學

父親連小學都沒上過

他是個不折不扣的鄉下農夫

一臉憨厚，不善言詞

常常是某些巧言鄉人取笑的對象

但是他卻有異於當時一般人的見解

尤其他說牆壁上不能亂貼紙條

因為會塗污牆壁

如果畫得太厲害，會給塗成大花臉

尤其他說塑膠袋不能被埋進土地裡

因為塑膠袋永遠不會腐爛

會妨害農作物的生長，難有好收穫

如果燃燒起來更會散發毒氣

尤其他說燈火要隨時關熄

不然家庭開支會增加

這些是他的禁忌，誰都不能違反

父親雖已離開人世三十幾年

但我從小受到父親的教誨，謹守他的禁忌

卻受到不小的打擊

曾經把樓梯間亂貼的小廣告撕下

卻遭四樓陸太太說那是人家用來討生活的

並貼紙條在樓梯門板上咒說：

撕那些小廣告的會斷手斷腳

後來她卻被市公所以金錢鼓勵大家撕小廣告給打了巴掌

曾經在大白天光線很好時，把公共樓梯間的燈關熄

卻遭來另一邊四樓郭姓住戶罵「三字經」

有一次我走路出門，他還騎機車攔路要打我

經我以小時父親教我的「拳頭」架開

他才從此噤若寒蟬

父親連小學都沒上過

他不是什麼專家

說不出環境保護、節能減碳那些堂皇名詞

世上儘有會大聲說話而不行動的人

我父親卻是默默地做而不吹噓的

但是他當年的所做所為

卻成了當今世界的顯學

我不知道這世界到底怎麼了