Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Poetry 2017 | Page 171

to a teenager, passionate about tasks in life and calls.
From a young freshman
to an old, elegant gentleman who had thrived along their path
For the lamp, it had been renewed.
Though the fresh paint was wearing off,
the light was dimming.
The nest had been emptied.
Passers-by threw loathing glances at it.
Finally, it was stripped down, and
relocated next to a big patch of land
that would soon become a new, glamorous club.
With cosmopolitans coming in and out.
With the longest bar in the Orient,
the club witnessed the lives of musicians, poets, spies and socialites.
Standing under the billboard, the lamp
listened to the talking and laughing of men and women
Sniffed the enchanted aurora of cocktails and perfumes
Caught a glimpse of tycoons with their muses, striding along the bar table.
And tasted the nightlife of the new Cathay crown jewel.
This was the happiest time of the lamp,
Until the Imperial army of Japan that ended it all.
January,
The New Year was right around the corner
A time for every single street to be overwhelmed by lanterns
And flooded by a sea of red Fai Chuns.
Firecrackers to be piled up for the New Year’s Eve’s celebrations
Yet, on the contrary,