Andrew W.K. Yip Poems

Remember the folks who first came to our shores,
Fleeing from floods, famine, starvation and wars.
Remember they cleared the forests, pushed back the sea.
They braved the storms and swamps, and built the place that is home to me.
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Did you see a blinding flash lighting up the somber sky,
Fiery swords stabbing savagely like lightning?
Did you see spires of death, dark deadly smoke billowing high,
Rising above raging, flaring flames, consuming a burning building?
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Pick this coin of copper, not silver or gold,
To reflect on times remote and things old.
Sweat and grime stained its faded face,
Touched by trouble, toil and tedium that time won't erase.
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Chinatown - the rainbow place,
A rainbow of fresh hopes and fervent dreams
Above dark clouds, grey skies and sombre haze,
Upon this shade and shelter the warm sun gleams.
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Beyond the sea, beyond the ocean;
Far away from home, and no communication;
But distant cries that roused the waves in the boundless sea,
Cries that echoed in the wind of pain and memory.
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A father`s love - enduring and caring;
Words unspoken - yet comfort and warmth unsparing.
A gentle pat and hug, a thoughtful gesture,
Smiles, jokes or a tender look - all loving, pure and sure.
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But the Samsui Women from China came,
Braved the surging storms and nature untame.
How those alpha women matched the men
In hard and heavy work and tough trade then.
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Suddenly, as if in a dream, she came.
Life's no longer the same.
There she stood - an angel's child;
My heart began beating, throbbing wild.
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There was a little house in a yellow wood
Along a narrow green lane on Tea Hill.
Bold and proud in the wind it stood
A shelter of love, a home of memories still.
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She walked in -
Into the holy place within.
Tears filled her cup as she wept, wailed and cried out
In agony over the wickedness and wretchedness of Man without.
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