Star Ferry Pier: Reasons of Ours

1.

The news on the TV reports
Young people mounting a bulldozer
banners waving: Star Ferry Pie stays
Mixed feelings pull my head down

On the way I feel
The need to pause, study
The land beneath my feet
All of a sudden I am grounded
This tiny piece of land can really belong to us
From now on, if we take care
Of our imagination

II.

Mok, you asked me to bring a poem here
To read and it’s a bit embarrassing
I think of what we have gone through together
I have lost my direction already. What shall I write?
You should have known that I can’t shout any longer
I’d rather shut up. I write my little stories

I was at the June 4th and July 1st rallies
Among the beautiful crowds
My steps are empty
A voice that can hardly let out a slogan
On stage, the ceremony was a useless drama
Nobody knows how to stop
The body walks aimlessly
where’s the soul? That old movement,.this city
How can I write a poem

III.

My head has been down for so long
The land under my feet
Now a blur
My heart floods with respect
There’s no question about their courage, they’re young
And are wiser than we are
That’s a tiny piece indeed. Let’s take it back, bit by bit
This is Star Ferry, that, Queen’s Pier, and the Blue House is over there, farther
Across the Harbour, West Kowloon, Yaumatei and others
So many of our footsteps are left there
People live all the flavours, sweet, bitter, sour, spicy
We see everything clearly now

All of the se reasons of ours
To ask that body to stop
To stop that ridiculous loitering
I look down
Bits and pieces of land
This movement, our city
has found its soul

Uncle Hung
Translated by Stone

Editorial Note: A poem written in Chinese by Uncle Hung for the struggle to preserve star ferry pier, queen's pier and other cultural, historical site and social space in Hong Kong. The writer is an older generation activist in Hong Kong and now a well-known children story teller. First published in inmediahk.net