Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Poetry 2020 | Page 17

Poetry – Group 4
And though he liked to think himself sixty
therefore dignified, he found his mouth, like
so many others:
Hanging open
Wide
Agape with wonder.
Intriguing, isn’t it? Being so different
yet all the same. All tributaries racing
alongside weathered cliff-faces towards
open sea; the sea of promise, of wealth
of glass-windowed towers, fruitful futures
opportunities success happiness
That one had peeling skin, calloused palms, where
his bulk hid his hollow cheekbones and thinned wrists.
Another one, a girl, hair jet-black, arms full
cradling two squealing, chubby children,
yet red tinted the bags under her own eyes.
And another one, wrinkles etched deep
telling her grandson of dreams of good fortune,
of purpose - the same vibrant dreams that thrive
in the minds of all those bound for the Land;
All those there on the Dong feng motorbus.
iv. eroding
She shrugs on her blazer and tints her lips
with red. She seats herself behind the concierge
desk, warmest smile on
Greets those clusters of mothers and fathers and
children tugging suitcases:
Welcome to Macau! The number-one tourist hotspot
in the world
and is hit by a pang of emptiness
an ache inside of her.
She wonders when the time will come
Where in her bank account, money enough
When she would be able to
Bring her beloved Ba.
v. flowing away
Ladies and gentlemen, twenty
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