A Visit

Leather Factory

She has grown accustomed
to stitching tightly-spaced seams
to mend her closely guarded secrets
accustomed to the unhurried hum of electric motors
just as she’s grown used to the foreman’s curses

​

Five years of seniority—neither long nor short—
just enough to drown her flower-like youth
The restlessness once wrapped in gray work clothes
has long since vanished
There are also many times
she imagines walking under the sunlight outside the window
with a beautiful handbag she crafted herself
carefree and unconstrained
Ah, the sunlight beyond the window
so close to her
yet so far away

​

She has grown accustomed
to the smell of leather
from which she can discern
its type and texture
just as she’s grown used to
the loneliness of living alone

​

Author Profile: Zhang Shougang, born in the 1970s in Yunyang, Chongqing, is a member of the Chongqing Writers Association. His published poetry collections include The Calendar on the Timecard, Wandering Between City and Countryside, and 60 Poems: Zhang Shougang’s Volume.

​​​​她已经习惯了

用密密的针脚

缝合秘不可宣的心事

习惯了电动机不紧不慢的嗡嗡声

和习惯了主管的谩骂一样

五年工龄　不长不短

刚好淹没她如花似玉的青春

灰色厂服里裹着的不安份

早就没了踪影

也有很多时候

她幻想挎着自己亲手做的

漂亮手袋

走在窗外的阳光下

无拘无束

呵　窗外的阳光

离她这么近

却又那么遥远

她已经习惯了

这些皮革的气味

从气味中能分辨出

皮革的种类　质地

就像习惯了一个人过的

孤独

作者简介：张守刚，重庆云阳人，生于70年代。重庆市作家协会会员，出版有诗集《工卡上的日历》《徘徊在城市和乡村之间》《60首诗 张守刚卷》等。