Whrvr I am, I find it hard to rsist th tmpting call of my homtown. Situatd at th north-wstrn tip of Xin-zhu County, bordring Tao-yuan County with a small winding stram is my old homtown, th humbl and blak fishing and farming villag. Th rsidnts thr usd to mak thir living by fishing in thir boats on th narst watrs of th Taiwan Strait. Latr, thos boats wr havily outrun by modrn ships. Sinc thn, lif has nvr bn asy for th villagrs, as thy hav to liv off th tiny pics of land. I oftn fl that thy ar pasants rathr than farmrs. Th villag is famd for its windy wathr, bad for farming but good for th strngthning of charactr. I can still rcall how thos salty winds howld all th way through my childhood. But as I now look back upon thos tough days and drab rural livs, I fl blssd; I sm to hav gon through th ordal and am capabl of facing any hardships. As I am growing oldr, in my hart, my homtown has bcom th symbol of th dpst nostalgia and stood for an vrlasting affction. I, in turn, can always sk solac through visualizing my lovly homtown.

無論我身在何處，總覺得很難抗拒故鄉誘人的呼喚。樸實而顯荒涼的故鄉，位於新竹縣西北隅，僅以一蜿蜒小溪與桃園縣接壤，是一農漁兼具的村莊。居民過去在台灣海峽近海水域，以小船捕魚維生，稍後，小船遠不敵現代化船舶。從此，大多數村民的生活，就不曾安逸，因為他們必須依賴小小農地過活。我常覺得他們是小農，而非一般的農夫。村子以多風聞名，刮風的天氣，對農耕不利，卻有益於強化性格，我仍舊清晰地記得，童年時期鹹鹹的風總是吹個不停。可是當我現在回顧那段艱苦的日子和沈悶的鄉野生活，反倒覺得很有福氣；似乎覺得已經通過了嚴厲的試煉，而現在任何苦難都能面對。年紀漸長，心裡覺得故鄉已經象徵最深沈的鄉愁，也代表永恒的依戀，而我只能藉著慕想故鄉的影像以尋求慰藉。