Anonymous

I saw a most unusual woman today,traveling into Manhattan on the commuter railroad.I stood near her and her three children,two boys and a girl,all of us jostled about as the train rushed into the city.Where she boarded,I cannot be sure;judging from her style and the quality of her clothes,I'd guess she came from one of the more prosperous Long Island villages.

The kids were between three and eight years old.A dirty-blonde-haired girl,a bright cutie,was the youngest.The boys,outfitted in heavy winter coats and coordinated baseball caps,were sound in looks and personality.The mother was a pale,pleasant looking,slender woman about five feet six inches tall,with a not quite heart-shaped face.She had to be less than 40.Her black hair was cut to mid-neck,and her moderately thick eyebrows arched over gray-blue eyes.She was dressed for the sleety winter weather in a heavy gray wool coat,blue jeans,anddark brown hiking boats.

What made this woman stand out from other attractive women was her relationship with her children.She casually interacted with them in the most supportive manner during the more than half-hour they were standing.Affection was plentifully supplied through a series of well-distributed touches and ready smiles.She held a cup of coffee in her hands,and the kids,too,gripped beverages,along with the remnants of a light Pop Tart breakfast.Breakfasting in a railroad car was evidently part of the day's adventure and was timed to keep the kids occupied on what could otherwise have been a boring trip.

Readers may be curious about the emotional inspiration for the sketch I have limned above.My purpose was to share a moment of the aesthetic pleasure in everyday life and to provide a reminder that life's rewards can be found in its routines.The work of living had traced a mark on the woman's face.Its public representation was the crease line that ran down her lower cheek and under her jaw,which showed promise of turning into the boundary of a jowl or extra chin in later years.The power of this marking can be measured by my response to it;for,in a culture that finds sign of wear repellent,I was attracted.

The stamp of age served as a natural frame for a found piece of performance art,one that might be called"Love Enhances Human Beauty."Her essence radiated competent motherly love,and I was spiritually and emotionally moved by it.It was a delight to see someone who evidently lived life to love and be loved.This woman,this mother,and(judging from her wedding ring)this wife knew life's wear and tear,and she appeared to accept it as part of a fair deal in return for the joy of living.

列車上的女士

佚名

今天，在駛往曼哈頓的列車上我見到了一位與眾不同的女士。她帶著三個孩子，兩個男孩一個女孩，我就站在他們旁邊。當列車高速行進的時候，我們都擠在了一起。我不清楚她在哪一站上車的，不過從她的打扮和衣服的材質來看，我估計她從長島那些富庶的村莊過來。

那幾個小孩的年齡介于三到八歲之間。他們中年紀最小的是那個女孩，一頭金黃的頭發帶點兒灰褐色，儼然一個聰明的鬼精靈。那兩個男孩穿著厚重的冬大衣，戴著配套的棒球帽，長相和心智都顯得很健康。他們的媽媽白皙，漂亮，身材苗條，身高大約五英尺六英寸，臉形不太像心形。她肯定不到四十歲。她烏黑的長發落到脖子處，粗粗的睫毛下有一雙灰藍色的眼睛。為了應對冬天雨雪交雜的天氣，她身上穿著厚厚的灰羊毛大衣，藍色牛仔褲和深褐色的登山靴。

她和孩子們的關系讓她顯得與眾不同。在車廂里的半個多小時中，她以一種隨和、鼓勵的態度和幾個孩子交流著。在對幾個孩子沒有偏心的愛撫和燦爛的微笑間充盈的是深深的感情。她的手中握著一杯咖啡，孩子的手里也拿著飲料和一小塊吃剩的上面有果醬的小圓餅。顯然，在列車上吃早餐是他們每天生活的一部分，這樣的時間安排也讓孩子們在一趟乏味的旅程中有事可做。

讀者也許會好奇，也許想知道我以上這段簡短的描述背后的情感動機。其實我只想與讀者分享平常生活中一個愉快而富有美感的瞬間，以此啟示大家在日復一日的生活瑣事中有生活對你的回報。歲月在那位女士的臉上留下了痕跡。這些痕跡很明顯地體現在她的法令紋上，那條法令紋一直延伸到下頷，相信用不了幾年就會變成一條深深的雙下巴頸紋。從我的反應便可知道這種痕跡的力量不可低估。在這樣一個推崇年輕漂亮的時代，我卻被這位女士深深吸引。

歲月在女士身上留下的烙印為我妙手偶得的這件表演視覺藝術作品提供了一個自然的框架，我就姑且將這件作品稱為“愛使人美麗”吧。從她體內煥發出的那種熾烈難當的母性的愛，讓我的靈魂和情感為之震憾。看到活生生的愛與被愛，是一件十足的賞心樂事。這位女士，母親和妻子（從她手上的結婚戒指而知）體會到了生活的磨耗，然后她坦然地接受了，并把生活的苦兌換成生活的樂視為一種公平的交易。

感悟母性的愛，讓靈魂為之動容。