Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Poetry 2020complete | Page 125

The Great Steel Dragon
Maryknoll Convent School (Secondary Section), Wong, Valerie - 14
My first memory of any sort of travel was like this…
A giant metal creature
Long and looming,
Almost monstrous compared to my little 5-year-old body.
I remember I was terrified.
Eyes wide, teeth chattering,
As we slowly approached the dragon.
I remember huddling up against my mother,
Face flushed and never seeming to look away.
I remember my parents laughing at me,
“Silly child, it's just the Hong Kong Macau Zhuhai bridge ~”
I didn’t know what a bridge was.
I was very worried about our safety.
I bit my lip in fear as our car slid onto the dragon,
And…
Suddenly I was gliding across water!
The blue sparkling ocean,
The crisp salty air,
The clear skies…
Suddenly the dragon didn't seem so scary anymore.
I think I fell asleep very soon after that,
I dreamt of clouds and fish and waters.
Then I woke up, suddenly strangely aware of my surroundings.
Where was I?
This isn’t home… yet there are just as many skyscrapers here.
I remember mother talking about some sort of “Greater Bay Area”
She said we would be living here from now on.
I was about to resist,
Until I saw a lush green park right next to the skyscrapers.
Until I saw the modern yet spacious houses lining the streets.
Until I saw a giant candy shop beside the parking lot.
Hmmm, if this is what the Greater Bay Area was, I'm all for it...