| The day I embarked to cross oceans, My hands holding my children’s, my pockets empty, I left the land where my cord was cut, my placenta buried, And wondered when I would have a peaceful life. I left my native land behind, Not knowing what was left of my life, The past is gone, don’t mourn over it, Look back at our country, but shed no tears. I thought I had reincarnated To a new race, a new language, I shed skin to a water hyacinth’s fate, To my new humankind in a distant land. Who could have guessed, decades have passed, After many fierce winds and waves, Nature changed, stars moved, I look at myself and it’s still me. On foreign soil, traditions would fade away, But surprise, we still live our familiar ways ; Our native land we thought we’ve lost, Rebuilt here with our women’s hands. J. B. Ho October 29, 2006 |
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