That bearded sunflower-like smiling face
——Remembering the poet Ma Gaoming
On the evening of October 26, I suddenly received a WeChat message from my old colleague Red Child: "Brother Gao Ming left at 6 o'clock in the afternoon. "My heart was immediately filled with sadness. When Red Child says "Brother Gao Ming", he refers to our common colleague Ma Gaoming.
When he was in doubt, he then received the obituary "Never Say Goodbye" in WeChat: "Ma Gaoming, a native of Beijing from Shandong, was born in 1958. Since childhood, he has been fond of dancing and ink, and in his youth he was proficient in English and later became a newspaper editor, but his identity has always been a poet. However, the more favored by the god of the muse, the more jealous he was by the god of fate, at 18:06 on October 26, 2022, two weeks before the 64th birthday of Brother Gao Ming, Brother Gao Ming, who had just entered his prime, was hastily accepted back to the immortal class by the goddess of Muse, sparing all his joys, sorrows and sorrows in the world..." Looking through his circle of friends, he also saw the sad text sent by his wife: "My beloved, my husband Ma Gaoming... Went to the poetic wine paradise where there was no more sickness. "Brother Gao Ming's life was accompanied by poetry and wine, but unfortunately the road was bumpy. Fortunately, he was able to have love and companionship during a serious illness, and their warm and sweet stories were passed on to his colleagues, who blessed and comforted him. I believe that the paradise he went to not only had poetry and wine, but also beautiful and precious memories of love.
Ma Gaoming's brother is heroic, kind and transparent, and always has many fans around him. As a hazy poet or avant-garde poet of the first generation, he did not have the arrogance of some so-called poets, and always made people feel warm and brilliant like sunshine. Colleagues at the newspaper spoke of him, and their thoughts quickly returned to the situation when they worked at the Berlin Temple.
Folded into the room from the supplement department on the right hand of the abbot's courtyard, is Ma Gaoming's office, and the deepest impression is first of all the majestic queue of listening beers on his desk, the lineup is magnificent and spectacular. In the unit, he often likes to get a large group of people to eat and drink, and he always pays for it, and he is very generous. Sometimes the wine and dishes are put on the table, and there is humor, and the "terminology" of the edition is used to ask everyone: "Are you satisfied with today's layout?" As soon as the words fell, they often exploded into laughter.
At that time, the newspaper leaders strictly banned alcohol, but allowed the poet Ma Gaoming to enjoy the privilege of drinking. Whenever colleagues see him, they seem to have the image of holding beer in their hands and drinking with their heads up. Sometimes while chatting, a beer would suddenly appear in his hand, and he really didn't know where he could hide so many "wine springs".
When I walk in the poetry circle, whenever I report the name of the unit, someone will always pick me up: "I know Ma Gaoming from your newspaper." "His good reputation makes me feel very face-saving and proud to be a colleague with him, and he often has a high chest. Ma Gaoming sent me his translations of "Selected Greek Poems" and "Selected Modern Dutch Poems", which are classics. He himself left behind many new poems and is very famous. For example, "Serenade": "The children are asleep / They climb / The tree of their dreams / / No one / has opened the window / / The lights / In a fading tone / Conversation..." This poem is condensed and delicate, full of a special charm of purity and detachment. The "fading tone" of the poem through the lights suggests the calm and serenity of sleep, and expresses the calmness and true mellow in the heart. Few people may know that in addition to writing avant-garde poems, Gao Ming often writes old style poems. This poet and translator who has studied both Chinese and Western languages also has a passionate taste for traditional culture. Please take a look at this song "Xin Ugly Zhongchun Looks Out of the Window": "Spring sluggishness outside the window, mistake me for old age and foolishness; Out of the meeting to be a dusty friend, sitting and writing an impromptu poem; There is no time to observe the leaves and flowers, and there is a taste of vegetable food; The eyes of the affection are green, and it comes from the old branches. His poems are unconventional, but chewable. A casual glance out of the window and a new green triggered a philosophical thought. At that time, the poet was seriously ill, but through the new greenery on the old branches, he expressed an optimistic and pure poet's state of mind. I remember that after he temporarily lost his voice due to laryngeal surgery, he once sent me a song "Lyrics in Illness": "Cancer does not abandon the cup in his hand, three or five calls for the lights to surround; Dare to ask guests in the snow, think of people's taste and look at Mei; Shaohua red and green every year, indifferent cloudy and sunny days! I don't know if I can return to the spring in the next year? The poem truly expresses his helplessness and anxiety about the pain, and at the same time expresses his love and dedication to life. I also sent him a poem "Gift to the Horse Gao Ming": "Tanxi is stormy and stormy, and it can be expected to leap into the waves." Temporarily teach Chunlei to rest in his heart and wait for new poems in silence. ”
Before Gao Ming's surgery, he once recorded the recitation of his representative poems such as "Spring", "Shadow Song" and "Midsummer Behavior" into CDs, preserving his precious voice. The memory he left on the world will always be that dashing and unrestrained passionate poet. He is generous and friendly, and at the same time he loves and hates people and things. I remember one time when I went to see him at his home in Hepingli, he had just started practicing vocalizing with his vocal cords, and he spoke so hard that people wanted to cry. But he said happily through the mask that he could already drink beer again, and he simply used beer to take medicine. When he became ill like this, he did not forget to take care of the feelings of his guests, invited me to see his newly written poems, looked at his collection of paintings, and angrily recalled with me that a certain poet had hurt a girl with affection. It's a pity that I am not good at drinking, and I can't drink with my brother, so I had to accompany him to the air outside the window and scold the thin lover.
Brother Gao Ming was the first to gain popularity, and once went down to the "sea" for a period of time. He first opened the September Gallery at the west gate of Tuanjiehu Park, and later led a company to plan cultural projects, study local cultural overviews, and conduct cultural facility tours. Unfortunately, passion and romance are not the passport to business. His business didn't seem to have picked up much after all. In the end, he was tired and seriously ill. But no matter how tortuous the road is, the Ma Gaoming who appears in front of everyone will always have a straight spine and will not fall, which is really admirable. I once visited the seaview house he bought in Nandaihe. The one-bedroom room has a balcony directly facing the sea, overlooking the vast expanse of the clouds. The rushing waves are just like the unceasing soul of the poet surnamed Ma rushing and rushing day and night, full of vitality on the outside but hidden in many invisible bitterness inside. He wrote in "Spring Dawn": "Xiaolai has no intention of complaining about early spring, and the big dream and three winters are good at listening to the piano; I don't love the first sunny day, but I love the sunset; It is difficult to break the wall after years of infection, and it is easy to break the soul by crying blood all day long; Half a life of floating dust should have no regrets, white stripes and waves are beautiful..." From the last two lines of the poem, we can imagine his life perception and cherishment of love after experiencing ups and downs.
I have long known that Brother Gao Ming is seriously ill, but I still feel that the bad news came too suddenly. Two months ago, I participated in the poetry award of the Writers Association and met the poet Shucai, who translated the "Selected Greek Poems" with Ma Gaoming. Shucai asked about Gao Ming's physical condition, and I also said that I had been ill for more than 10 years and had stabilized. A few days ago, I talked with my colleague Teacher Yu about Brother Gao Ming, and she also said that she always felt that Brother Gao Ming's body could hold up, and she would find an opportunity to visit him in the future. It is a pity that life is fragile after all. The disease refuses to stop and wait for people, and the "future" that people wait for is an eternal parting. Teacher Yu recalled with deep affection that when he first came to the newspaper office, once an article on the page was criticized by the leader, and he was depressed, just when the magpie singed outside the window, Gao Ming carefully came over to comfort him: "In the future, the magpie will not be able to believe it." A joke made people laugh. The magpie's chirping cannot be believed, but the wise words are very effective. With his characteristic sincerity, warmth and humor, he easily dispelled the haze in the hearts of his little colleagues.
In the supplement department where we work, the editorial team includes Ma Gaoming, Lin Bai, Red Child, including me, and many poets have worked here one after another. No matter how long we get together, I am fortunate to leave a sincere poetic relationship, and after many years, I can still recall some interesting or embarrassing things about each other. Each poet has a different personality, but a candid temperament is the same. Although fate always adds and subtracts, and memory is always in the present tense, there is always a poetry in work and life, which makes people's hearts soft and warm. Just imagine, if a unit is all "knife teaching" and is full of cold calculations between each other, how tiring it will be to get along with each other.
Gao Ming has traveled far, the poem is still there, the love is still there, and the bearded sunflower-like smiling face is still there. (Gao Chang)
Source: China Culture News