Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Poetry 2017 | Page 170

Monument to the Past, Beacon for the Future
SKH Tang Shiu Kin Secondary School, Lee, Ting Kwan Thomas – 16
Today was the big day of the street lamp
It was delivered fresh, with a pleasant smell of paint.
The workers carefully put it into a pit, next to the busy Shanghai waterfront.
From that day onwards, this small pit of fresh soil would be its home.
Standing up straight,
its lean body would add a few beautiful strokes to the dazzling Shanghai
as if an elegant white gown worn by a happy bride.
It was a substitute for the trees
as birds built nest on it.
It overlooked the polished buildings and houses
where people toiled relentlessly in the pursuit and sketching of their dreams.
When night fell
It would be the silent guardian,
Protecting the younglings and the old
from the dark oblivion
The lamp became friends with the trams and the cars
A bizarre invention powered by cable lines and oil.
They added a few more notes to the symphony of Shanghai Tan.
Under the facade of glamour,
Shanghai was just a normal city.
People came and went.
They wore suit and robe, dressed in “Cheongsam”
The lamp saw them changing.
From an infant, playing with toy dolls