Born On Winter Solstice

作者：陳國雄

I was born on winter solstice

A good omen

People frequently tell me

My life hasn’t been easy

If there is any luck to winter solstice

It was lost on me

I am 39

And pumping gas

On Oregon Highway 22

A customer wants tractor diesel

He says to me

The planets are aligning this month

Mars Jupiter Saturn and Venus

December solstice is best time to see it

I let on that is my birthday

He says, That is a lucky day

I reply, Not for me

Just wait and see, he continues

I am hoping things work out for you

So a solstice child

may experience brighter days

Seeing the diesel customer drive away

I wondered how my solstice birthday

would turn out

Would it be any different

than the previous 39 years

? Chen Guo Xiong 2020

Released from an orphanage at age 17

I was neither a child nor an adult

With no experience behind me

And no prospect in front

With zero goals to grasp

I drifted 22 pointless years

Not asking anyone for guidance

I had nothing to be confident about

Like most orphans I knew

with no hope or family

The cosmic alignment came and went

This solstice was another fading event

I did welcome the longer days

And when summer brought new life

Diesel man showed up

with a belated birthday wish

Sorry I missed your birthday, he says

My gift wasn’t ready

I liquidated all my real estate holdings

And I am off on a yearlong trip

Before I depart

Let me bequest the solstice man a gift

I give you a small cabin

on a small plot not far from here

To house your future solstice years

It is yours to keep

You have no mortgage or rent to pay

Just light a candle each winter solstice

and blow it your own way

He hands me several keys

On a key ring with an address

I stood in silence and disbelieve

Watching diesel man

drive off for only the second time

I told my boss

I wasn’t feeling well

We were 11 months into a virus pandemic

I knew my boss would send me home

I mapped the address on the key ring

And started down US highway 22

not far from where I pump gas

I turned up a gravel driveway

that led to a pole barn building

With 5 keys in my hand

I was confused at what to do next

Flipping the keys over, I look

A small key for a padlock

A car key with car remote

One key is named Kubota

One Schlage door key

With the Schlage key selected first

I slowly walk to a green cabin

Admiring its simple shape

The key fits

and it turned for me

Seeing the cabin in disbelieve

The inside fully furnished

With a cool airconditioned breeze

I walked in and the cabin interior

immediately wrapped me warmly

With a sense of belonging

I have never felt before

This was my solstice longing