Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Poetry 2019 | Page 136

New Tales of the Ming Treasure Voyages Po Leung Kuk Choi Kai Yau School, Chan, Yan Ting Tiffany - 16 This is my tale Of how we all went On the greatest trip ever All of us in search of treasure Not knowing the treasure we were forming. The guys called me Cheeky Boy Because of the laughter I brought them during the day Dancing around the deck, getting in everyone’s way And at night, when I told my own tales to the men and the stars Describing with such antics as you could never imagine The treasures that we dreamt of finding in foreign lands So we might forget that we were scared Once General Zheng visited our ship And called me Me! to serve him at dinner I won’t forget the way my body trembled as I gave him his cup took his bowl and was so so close to our leader Me within touching distance of he I know that he remembered me too. Just as I remember the places we went and the gems we saw Large grey beasts with massive horns taller than I Spotted creatures with necks that reached up to the sky And the barbarians of my imagination Dressed strangely, (sometimes) barely covering their crazy-coloured skin Crazy like the unfamiliar scents cruising the tang of the sea And the babbling of a hundred different languages wherever we went- I collected so much treasure my mind could not hold them all And night by night my stories grew Until one night, the entire crew Was hooked upon my words. It wasn’t all wonderful. Occasionally we fought Barbarians of the sea Ruffians like pirates and hostile armies. Times like these, my tales were useless My brothers helped me now As I, a little kitchen boy Cowered behind crates And prayed for their lives. When we saw the shadow of home again We all cheered but inside we all cried Without my friends, allies, brothers: Home would not seem like home. We set off in search of treasure And even I, nobody to you Struck gold.