Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Poetry 2020 | Seite 12

Hong Kong Young Writers Awards 2020
A White Flower
Harrow International School Hong Kong, Joseph–Hui, Alexandra – 13
I cradle it gently in between my fingers.
Its petals are pure,
It is more than just white.
I stroke its veins
Hidden is a story of love and beauty,
Beauty that was brief and violent.
A mellow aroma of perfume
Buries all the smells that drifted through the air
Deep into its heart
The richness of a culture
Gone in an instant.
Its roots are wet to the touch
The clear sap drips onto my finger
I stare, fixated on the glimmering moisture.
My lone eye is reflected.
I look into the deep, earthy brown
Out of frustration
I smear the liquid.
The fields are no longer white.
Instead,
A vast nation overflowing with skyscrapers
The shrill blaring of boats
The now bleak, ashen sea
People trudging past
I am engulfed.
252
The beginning of a new era.
Where have the white flowers gone?
Now, when flowers blossom
All that blooms is commotion.
Hong Kong is no longer present.
One sole flower.
It holds the legends of the past,
The stories of today
The hope of tomorrow.
Its petals are fluttering in the warm wind.
I feel a pang of sorrow.
It reminds me of my beloved homeland.
I drop it.