Farewell to a sister-in-law

Many years parted, overjoyed to meet again 
Holding hands, talking happily like the midst of a dream
Like water, years' light passes in the blink of an eye
In this life, hope remains to grasp a spring breeze

Arrived quick quick, leaving quickly
Highly attentive, one voice is regarded as precious
Teary-eyed looking at each other, departing with regret 
We both carry feelings at coming to bid farewell

Farewell to fourth paternal aunt who came to visit from Hong Kong and toured the States for a month, touring with her daughter. This was the happiest time for her, a wish of a lifetime come true. 

spring breeze = warm, happy, everything going your way

- This was my grandfather's older sister with whom my dad and his older brother stayed when they left mainland China fleeing the Communists and prior to joining up with the rest of their family in Taiwan. 
- According to my mom, this was the time my dad tasted life as a guest, and depending on someone who's not your own family. "Once you don't live with your own family, you grow up real fast, and don't take things for granted, and become smart at detecting other people's feelings and expressions." Apparently my great-aunt's husband was an opium addict so the family was poor and two more mouths exacerbated their already scarce food portions.

Dull fruit

Nighttime Boredom

Dullness comes without remedy for this mild mood swing low.
Gathering up a random poem temporarily relieves sorrow.
The lamp casts a single shadow, it's hard to laugh.
Lay down thinking about the past, brow to unfurrow.

"Lay down thinking" intentionally translates the double meaning in the Chinese: either "cease from thinking", or "go to sleep thinking about".

Picking Oranges

A hundred acres of stepped fields surround this green mountain. 
Village front village hind--the plumpest oranges.
Climb around dense woods, you pick and pull.
Return with whole body infused in sweet fragrance. 

Few people visited Seven Star Mountain. There were orange orchards there. After the war, there was a Japanese man who didn't return and stayed in Taiwan. He was treated by the Chinese pretty well so he was very grateful and several times invited the Chinese to return the favor. One weekend, my colleagues and I went to visit and, knowing the mountain very well, the Japanese man, Mr. Little Boss, showed us around. We had a good time.

I am continually amazed by the way I take after my grandmother with my frequent boredom and bouts of mild melancholy. Also, my grandfather represents where I got my adventurous side and love of picking fresh fruit.

Again

Five years later, seeing sister Chuen again in Chicago

Several years ago we talked and walked by Mirror Lake,
Today we see each other at the corner of the sea.
Short our lives, short our meeting;
Someday we'll reunite again, with more happiness.


Blood-colored Cherry Blossoms

In front of Double Leaf, a half acre of plantings,
Big Harmony's special varieties came from afar.
Who pities the Three Islands' broken homeland?
Only see the cherry flowers blossom open with blood.

We went to Double Leaf Resort another time. There were several Japanese cherry trees and we came just at the peak of blossoming. Since we arrived in Taiwan, we've been busy returning the Japanese people to Japan, they've lived here fifty years. The Japanese look so calm, their appearances don't indicate that their country had been defeated. These people didn't show any emotion. 

Notes:
- The Japanese call their nation Big Harmony (da he). My mom jokes that all the physically small nations call themselves big: Big Harmony, Big Han (Korea). China is big so it doesn't have to call itself big.
- Japan is comprised of three big islands.
- There's a classic poem that says: the tree in the yard doesn't know the household has moved; spring comes and it blooms just like before. 
- My mom says, all over people are the same. She had a Japanese friend in grad school--"of course"--because everyone else was American. The friend apologized for Japan causing so much trouble in China. My mom said it's the warriors who are responsible, most people don't want war. People can be friends. Her friend told her many stories about growing up in Japan: we used to be so obedient, we'd stand in line for the drinking fountain and no one would cut. Nowadays the kids are not like that at all, they say: why don't we have more drinking fountains so the lines won't be so long? When we were kids, no one would have dreamed of saying that.