The Letter That Never Came

'Is there any mail for me?'
“有沒有我的信？”
Was the question that he asked of the postman at the closing of the day.
他問正要下班的郵遞員
Then he turned away and sighed, while a tear stood in his eye,
然後他轉身嘆了口氣，眼裡噙著淚水，
As he bowed his head and slowly walked away.
一邊低著頭，一邊慢慢的走了。
Was it from a gray-haired mother? Or a sister or a brother?
這封信會來自一位白髮蒼蒼的母親嗎？還是姐妹或兄弟？
Had he waited all those many years in vain?
難道他等了這麼多年都是徒勞的嗎？
From the early morning light, he would watch til dark of night
從清晨的曙光開始，他會一直守候到深夜
For the letter, but, at last, it never came.
為了等那封信，但最後還是沒來。
So one day upon the shore, he was found, but life was oer -
終於有一天，在岸邊，他被發現了，但生命已經結束——
His poor soul, it must have gone out with the tide.
他可憐的靈魂，一定是隨波逐流了。
In his hand they found a note with the last words that he wrote:
在他的手中，他們發現了一張便條，上面寫著他留下的最後一句話：
'Should a letter come, please place it by my side!'
“如果有信來，請將信與我一起安葬！”
Was it from a gray-haired mother? Or a sister or a brother?
這封信會來自一位白髮蒼蒼的母親嗎？還是姐妹或兄弟？
Had he waited all those many years in vain?
難道他等了這麼多年都是徒勞的嗎？
From the early morning light, he would watch til dark of night
從清晨的曙光開始，他會一直守候到深夜
For the letter, but, at last, it never came.
為了等那封信，但最後還是沒來。
Sweet flowers twine around the tombstone oer his mound,
甜蜜的花朵纏繞在他土丘上的墓碑上，
Upon which was scrawled his age, also his name.
那裡寫著他的年齡，還有他的名字。
Many years have gone, they say, since his spirit passed away,
許多年過去了，他們說，自從他去世以來，
But the letter that he longed for never came.
他渴望的那封信始終沒有到來。
Was it from a gray-haired mother? Or a sister or a brother?
這封信會來自一位白髮蒼蒼的母親嗎？還是姐妹或兄弟？
Had he waited all those many years in vain?
難道他等了這麼多年都是徒勞的嗎？
From the early morning light, he would watch til dark of night
從清晨的曙光開始，他會一直守候到深夜
For the letter, but, at last, it never came.
為了等那封信，但最後還是沒來。