Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Poetry 2019 | Page 75

Friendship has the word 'end' in it
Island School, Lam, Ady - 13
yī,
The pound of their feet
The stink of their belches
The laughs they direct at me,
a lowly swabbie
everyday it’s the same,
wiping away their dirty footsteps
the mud left on the deck,
the stories of dark skinned men
with beautiful gems and colossal rocks
with waterfalls that stretch to God’s heaven,
everyday it’s the same
i never get to go along.
and i will never get to go along.
èr,
it’s a bright day,
today,
the sun searing into my back,
the heat is
insufferable
until
shadows,
on my back.
they arrive;
a few cabin boys,
two carpenters,
one me.
sān,
i’ve never had a family
it’s only ever been me
but with them
not anymore
a sense of belonging, is that what they call this?
i’m not just the swabbie anymore,
i’m
me.
Zhou Song.
with them i can fight all day
eat all day
talk all day
about how we’re going to be captains of our own vessels
about how we’re going to find beautiful women of our own
about how we’re going to get out of here soon