Welcome to Poetic Licence 鈥� a weekly poetry forum, hosted by us, featuring words by local poets. This week? A return by Fiona Tinwei Lam.
听
Remembrance Day
In front of his sons, my grandfather
crumpled on a Hong Kong street under a rain of kicks
and blows by Imperial Japanese soldiers.
His wives and daughters poised
to smear their faces and bodies with shit,
their only shield against another Nanking.
听
Now, clips of Vimy Ridge on television,
trenches, tanks, marching,
explosions in sepia, black and white.
Scenes of bombers droning like oversized flies
above a recent kill. Cities on fire.
Each labels the other side devils
while scorching homes to hell.
听
Downtown, a ceremony--
the choir sings its youthful grief,
a crowd, umbrellas, light rain,
the bugle's clear line of yearning
calling out to what continues
in Aghanistan, Syria, Somalia, Myanmar--
years of accumulating
death. A vigil to wait out the worst
we can be to each other.
听
听has authored two books of poetry and a children's book. This poem originally appeared in another form in her book (Caitlin Press).
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