Wilda Morris grew up in Iowa City, Iowa and went to college in Washington D.C. She has a doctorate in Political Science from the University of Illinois. She is the editor of The Pebble, a children's ministry newsletter and the author of Stop the Violence! Educating Ourselves to Protect our Youth. She regularly writes poetry at the China Chef in Westmont, Illinois. She is currently serving as President of the Illinois State Poetry Society.

威尔达-莫蕾丝在艾荷华市长大，在华盛顿念大学并自伊利诺大学取得政治博士学位。 她是一个叫《鹅卵石》的教区儿童通讯的编辑以及《制止暴力！教育我们自己来保护我们的青年》一书的作者。她经常在伊利诺州西蒙市的一家中国饭店里写诗，并在美国各地的刊物上发表作品。她是伊利诺州诗人协会的现任会长。

诗人非马出版有十四本诗集 （除《秋窗 》是英文外，其它都是中文） 以及几本翻译，包括双语诗选《让盛宴开始──我喜爱的英文诗》。他还编选出版了几本台湾及中国现代诗选。他是前任伊利诺州诗人协会的会长，现居芝加哥。

William Marr (Fei Ma) is the author of fourteen books of poetry (all in his native Chinese language except Autumn Window which is in English) and several books of translations, including the bilingual anthology Let the Feast Begin—My Favorite English Poems.  He has also edited and published several anthologies of contemporary Taiwanese and Chinese poetry.  A longtime resident of Chicago, he served from 1993 to 1995 as the president of the Illinois State Poetry Society.

Fortune Cookie V: Lifelong Dream
"You will step on the soil of many countries."

签饼之五：平生梦
“你将踏上许多国家的土地。”

Splitting the cookie,
I step onto the soil
of Mali.

I brush sand 
from my hair,
as I ride for weeks,
swaying high
astride a camel.
Bells tinkle.

The scents of fresh bread,
strong coffee, spices, 
rise from the markets we pass.

Bellowing stall-keepers
and braying donkeys
assault my ears.

Then one day as the muezzin
begins the call to prayer
we enter the fabled city

of Timbuktu, ancient capital, 
famed for gold, salt, books
and mosques of sun-dried mud.

  Grandmother, keep your
  threat to send me to Timbuktu.  
  That is the soil on which 
  I wish to step.
			

打开签饼，
我踏上马利的
土地。

我把沙
从我发际梳掉，
几个星期来，
高高摇晃
我骑在骆驼身上。
铃声叮当。

新鲜面包的味道，
浓咖啡，香料，
从我们经过的市场升起。

摊贩的吆喝声 
和驴叫声
袭击我的耳朵。

之后有一天当报时者
开始召集人们祈祷
我们进入了廷巴克图

这寓言中的城市，古都，
以黄金、食盐、书籍
和干泥筑成的清真寺闻名。

  祖母 ， 请实现你把我送到
  廷巴克图的威胁。
  那是我希望踏上的
  土地。
			

Fortune Cookie VII: Retirement Party

签饼之七：退休餐会

                           
The back room is full
of colleagues and friends
as Dave celebrates
at the China Buffet.

After egg roll and soup,
General Tso's chicken,
Dave leans back,
cracks open his fortune cookie.

"A job change in your future,"
he reads, laughing.
"Whoever wrote this fortune 
didn't know I was retiring."

"The fortune writer is wise,"
his wife responds.  "He knows
the house needs to be painted,
the bathroom tile replaced
and the porch repaired."
			

里屋挤满了
同事与朋友
德夫在中国自助餐厅
庆祝。

在春卷与汤、
左公鸡之后，
德夫往后靠，
打开了他的签饼。

“你将换工作，”
他读道，大笑。
“写这预言的人
不知道我要退休了。”

“写这预言的人很聪明，”
他的妻子回答。“他知道
房子需要油漆，
洗澡间的瓷砖该更换
还有门廊得修理。”
			

Fortune Cookie X: At the Nursing Home

签饼之十：在疗养院里

                           
We took Chinese carry-out
to the nursing home
where Mother mourned 
the loss of health, strength
and the house she'd lived in
more than fifty years.
Her favorite, Sizzling Soup,
had cooled too much 
to crisp the noodles properly.  
Mother showed no more interest
in Chicken and Snow Peas
than in television 
or the weekly movie.
I cracked her cookie.
She withdrew the fortune.
Her eyes remained dull
as she read, "You will have
no troubles in your home."
			

我们带着外卖的中国菜
到疗养院
母亲在那里悲叹
失去的健康、力气
以及她住了五十多年的房子。
她喜爱的热汤
已冷的炸面条放进去
不再爽脆。
母亲对鸡肉与豌豆
不会比对电视
或每周电影的兴趣大。
我打开了她的签饼。
她取出预言。
她的眼光依旧黯淡
当她读着：“你在家
将不会有烦恼。”