i. The Warring States
I unified the warring states for you
Old classics, Confucius teachings burnt
Wisdom buried – scholar by scholar
Insurgency cut – tongue by tongue
One Emperor, one wall is all you see
ii. The Red Little Book
I swam across the Yangtze for you
Old ideas, customs, habits, books burnt
Butchering coup stroke by stroke
Qin surpassed – a hundred fold
Red little book is all you hold
iii. The Virus
I warned about the virus for you
Will you keep quiet? I cannot
Will you obey us? I will not
I once spoke for humanity
LWL was my name
iv. The Liberation
Memory is sadness
Knowledge is a burden
Burden is reckoning
Submission is liberation
Liberation is completeness
###
Exile – Year XXIII
i. The Landing
I committed no crimes
Unlike your convict ancestors
Exiled from the known
– An act may be illegal, a person is not
ii. The Swamp
I’m swamped by you
– I am the Monsoon of Love
You live in Asian ghettos
– Your hate builds the wall
Your types are drug dealers
– You are the Viagra to racist taunts
I decide who comes into my country
– The elders never invited you
Go back to your country if you don’t like it here
– This was my home until you came in the Year of the Rat
Your English isn’t good enough
– I didn’t ask, “please explain”
One people, one nation, one flag
– One Love
iii. The Exile
I love this country
But it’ll never be my home
Exiled from the exiled. Because of you
– A migrant is a patriot, a racist is not
###
Photo by miguel ugalde from FreeImages
Amy Lee
Amy Lee is a lawyer, emerging writer and poet based in Seattle. Her work was published in Thrive Global, HR.Com, The F-Word, Cicerone and FemAsia. She holds a BA/LLB from the University of Queensland and LLM from the Melbourne University. She has worked in-house for major corporations on LNG projects and now lives in Seattle where she volunteers as a career coach for Hopelink and at the Seattle Repertory Theatre Shop.
