大学前未曾离开过家乡的经历注定让我在上了大学之后才慢慢体会到归属感和家是什么样的一个感觉。一个条件就算再舒适不过的异地，找遍周围的一切却也再找不到任何一个寄存着自己的回忆的物件。
这些物件就如同魂器，就像我每次读《哈利波特》时，都能记起自己每晚趴在小床上翻开快要翻掉的书皮一字一字地读着淡绿纸页上的文字，每本书仿佛都有里德尔日记的魔力，让我完全进入另一个世界；或者就像我每次听到《秋天不回来》时，都能想起小学那段地下室逮人、去同学家玩游戏的时光。
最近在翻译The Book of Fame中Homesickness的一部分，遇到一首思乡诗歌，与大家共享：
The dog, for example
or a favorite chair
a bed from childhood
a favorite pipe
eyes tearing at the memory
of the world-can-wait smell of bacon fat
popping in the skillet.
High in the hills a fresh wind
that faint smell of deer.
The walk to the window that precedes
the sharing of indelicate news--
someone's death
a shotgun marriage--
and looking out at the back yard with its chore list:
this work-in-progress
that keeps its own time, manages its own routine
has never been to Europe or anywhere else
but the back yard
and wants to know only those stories
it has seen and heard for itself.
下面是本人拙劣的中文翻译版（欢迎有才之士的批评和修改）
比如说，那只狗
或者那把最爱的座椅
一张童年的床
还有一支最爱的烟斗
被泪水模糊的视线投向回忆
回忆中有飘着“能忘记世上一切”香味的熏肉
在煎锅中滋滋呖呖
高高的山坡上吹来一股清风
风中夹杂着淡淡的鹿香
向前方的窗户凑去
上面展示着另人难堪的消息——
某某人的死讯
还有一桩奉子而成的婚姻
再回过头来看列有杂事清单的后院
对勾还打在“尚未完工”这项标语
自己保持着自己的时间，自己把握着自己的惯例
它从未去过欧洲或其他各地
但就是这个后院
它只想了解那些故事
那些它亲眼见到和亲耳听到的一切
并不是因为家乡样样都好才会想家，而是因为家乡的一切，甚至每一粒PM2.5，都承载着说不尽的回忆。
The book of fame
Written By Lloyd Jones
The Book of Fame is a lyrical semi-fictional account of the 1905 All Black rugby tour of Europe - a tour that shaped New Zealand's identity, from which the players returned to find themselves accorded almost god-like status. This remarkable, award-winning novel is both a tribute to some of the world's first sporting celebrities and an investigation into the curious workings of fame.
Not just a book for lovers of sport, The Book of Fame is essentially a story about friendship and loyalty, and about a group of astonishing young men at the peak of their abilities.
