Happy Workers Day

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My picture of my drawing:  1st May is International Workers Day…so I thought about this..everyday is ‘International Workers-Day’ …for many people, especially children…nothing really to celebrate.

12 years old,
my mother tells me it is International workers day.
I know…I work 17 hours every day.
If only….

If only I could see my daddy…I miss my daddy…..he works so far away.
If only there was a playground for me and my friends to play in.
If only there was fresh water for me and mummy to drink
If only I could draw pictures, I like drawing pictures.
If only the man did not come at night time…
If only……

Happy workers day to all the people in the world.
I will finish this box soon……..then the next one.

Marriage is a life of sharing/婚姻是共享的人生

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My Picture: My friends sister was married today…I was invited to the wedding ( I also know the bride and groom )…they asked me to write a poem for their wedding day…it was a challenge. So…I wrote this poem,  it was translated into Chinese…and then they asked me to read the poem on stage…..which I did… with a translator repeating my words in Chinese for the audience…and then I presented them a typed framed version of the poem as a gift   A wonderful day….and a wonderful experience for me.

Love is a great thing
it makes what is heavy light,
and shines the darkest street.
Never satisfied, it burns and burns
and shakes the sky.

All the rivers sound on this day,
that lonely isolation a distant road.
A journey…that is proposed now
fills the house, and makes the moon dance.

And the crowds weep and laugh,
to see such love strike away the chains
of memories from our souls…….
now joined in permanent commitment.

Leo named Jessie his queen,
her youth and beauty at the highest temple.
And Jessie named Leo her knight,
accustomed to courage and flush of love’s light.

And this love will endure; they want to live like trees.
Yulan magnolia blazing through the cobalt sky,
dappled with colour .
Exuberantly budding, year after year
gentle and passionate.

 

爱情是伟大的
它赋予沉重以轻松,
给昏暗的街道以光亮。
永无止境,不断燃烧
甚至震撼整个苍穹。

今天的河流俱为之咆哮,
昨日的单身岁月已然远去。
一段旅程……从今日起便要踏上
将这里填满幸福,月亮也为之欢欣起舞。

人们感动落泪,开怀大笑,
因为看到爱情打破了往昔的锁链
冲破了灵魂的枷锁……
现在汇成了永久的承诺。

Leo让Jessie做了他的女王,
Jessie青春年华,美丽灿烂。
Jessie将Leo变成了她的骑士,
Leo勇敢无畏,热情洋溢。

他们的爱会永恒; 就像树一样去生活吧。
好似玉兰树在钴蓝色天空中绽放,
充斥着它色彩的斑驳。
旺盛萌芽,年复一年
温柔而又充满激情。

Difference

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My Picture: Red Coffee Cafe, Xinxiang. Henan Province, China

Some people think Chinese people are all the same.
I know they’re not.

In my apartment block there is Ms Chueng,
young and beautiful and
still looking for love at 27.

Each morning I see her and
we say ‘hello’.
She asks me about
football and the cold in England.
So I tell her that it has been
cold in England since the 1980’s.

Then on the 15th floor
there is Mr Wang, he lives alone
with two cats and reads Tang poetry.
I lent him a book of poems
by Emily Dickinson a few weeks ago.

Now he is fighting for love with the
teacher who lives above him.

Below me there are the Shan’s,
and their two children.
They have been to America twice.

They talk about trade wars and a
President who twitters all the time.
They think he lives under a floating moon.
I don’t tell them what I think.

So you see Chinese people are not the same.

They are a mind-map of personalities, ideas
and hopes.

Just like me.

Night Father

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The Independent Newspaper. UK.

The United Nations High
Commission for Refugees,
told me that 1,500 died
this month.

Or maybe they told me
850 lives were lost
in June and July alone.
It’s probably fake news anyway.

But I hope someone finds a solution,
I’d like to help,
But I haven’t the time today.

I know you tried to save him,
He had a home once,
pictures from school,
his favourite toy, Buzz Lightyear
made in China.

Now his home is the
mouth of a shark, and
one dead night swimmer
is the same as another.

You tell of your anger,
fear and shame?
Of your hopes for the future,
as the world watches you die

A washed up tiny young life,
you say ‘sorry’ for disturbing the
sangria on a Mediterranean beach.

The world speaks English,
when we write poems.
And the poets would like to help,
but their hands are tied.