"When I fell asleep/the outside world died/I only had a dream/I moved very ostentatiously/A clever snake/I picked up a wishful flower/I floated like weightlessness ..." These poems were written by Guo Fulai, a 47-year-old farmer from Houzhangjiawa Village, Anling Town, wuqiao county.
For Guo Fu, poetry has supported him for decades. No matter how busy and tired he is, he will write this poem as soon as he is inspired. At present, he has written hundreds of poems and published more than 30 poems and essays.
For his hobby of writing poetry, Guo Fu should owe it to his father, who used to be a teacher and planted the seeds of literature in his heart.
When I was a child, Guo Fu came home poor. In order not to let him play with other children and consume physical strength, Guo Fulai's parents took him to work in the fields when he was very young. At that time, my father was a substitute teacher in middle school. He told Guo Fu many fairy tales. When I was a little older, my father would tell Guo Fu about Tang poetry and Song poetry.
"At that time, my heart was like a vast farmland, and my father quietly planted the seeds of literature in my heart." For Guo Fu, influenced by his father, he liked literature very much since he was a child, and his accumulated experience in production and life also provided him with a source of creation.
No matter how hard life is, I never give up my ideal.
Limited by economic conditions, Guo Fulai barely finished junior high school courses and went home to do farm work.
After marriage, in order to subsidize the family, Guo Fulai set up a stall to sell some gadgets such as needles, thread, socks and gloves after busy work in the field. Because his family is poor and can't afford a bicycle, Guo Fulai carries a big bag every day, walks more than ten miles and sets up a stall in the market in the neighboring village. The days are getting better and better. Guo Fulai bought a bicycle and can go to the village a little farther away to sell goods. Later, he opened his own shop in the village.
For Guo Fu, he is busy with his life all day, but his love for literature remains unchanged. He collects wrapping paper for cigarettes, and sometimes he is inspired to write poems on the back of cigarette case paper or exercise books that children don't use. Because he never thought it could be published at that time, Guo Fulai did not systematically sort out and preserve these poems. Now, many cigarette cases with poems on them have been found.
Friends helped him embark on the road of literary creation.
"I can still publish hundreds of poems, thanks to my classmates and friends, who helped me stumble onto the road of literary creation."
In 2007, an old classmate who made small achievements in literary creation called Guo Fulai to encourage him to pick up a pen and write down his feelings. Even if it can't be published, it can add interest to the monotonous life. His classmates' words deeply touched him, so he put more time and energy into his literary hobbies and wrote more poems.
Because Guo Fulai doesn't have a computer at home, an enthusiastic friend typed the poems he wrote on paper into an electronic version and helped him contact and contribute to newspapers and magazines. Soon, Guo Fulai's poem "My Heart Standing at the Gate of Poetry" was published. Friends helped him take an active part in the essay contest organized by the municipal media and won many awards.
A few days ago, the third award-winning retailer selection activity sponsored by Yellow Crane Tower Weekly, a newspaper for national retail terminals, was announced. Guo Fulai won the winner of "Outstanding Retailer" for his wonderful performance in poetry. Yellow Crane Tower Weekly introduced him and published his poems for two consecutive issues.
Guo Fulai's poems are fresh and elegant, affectionate and meaningful, revealing his desire for a better life. Most of his creative inspiration comes from the small scenes and feelings of life and his attachment to his family. On a foggy day during the Spring Festival this year, he wrote such a poem: "I really want to bask in the sun/bask in bedding/bask in the ideal of getting wet/I am far from the sun/just like ideal and reality/I shrink my hands and hold books/knowledge like a warm kang/with blood/flowing in my body/every word/jumping/shining flame/ah/my hand.
Be a "fresh poet" who yearns for a better life
Guo Fulai's wife has an eye disease and is almost blind. The youngest of the two children also inherited his mother's illness. In addition to treating their families and taking care of the 90-year-old, Guo Fulai's family has been living a relatively tight life.
This year, in order to improve the economic situation at home, Guo Fulai asked his daughter and wife to take care of the business of the small shop at home. He went to work in a cloth exhibition company in Beijing under the introduction of a friend. Work and life are very hard. A dozen people live in an ordinary shop. In order to reduce their living expenses, they cook by themselves at 7: 00 in the morning and only have half an hour to eat during their work. Sometimes they will work overtime until midnight or even early the next morning. Even so, Guo Fulai still didn't give up reading and writing poems. After dinner, he will pick up a book and read it for a while before having a rest at night. If he feels anything, he will pick up a pen and write it down. Soon, more than a dozen of his poems were published in Team World, and the workers all looked at him with new eyes.
For the future and for Guo Fu, he should stick to his dream, persevere on the road of literature and be a "fresh poet" with a desire for a better life.