Here This Memoryby Ilaria Maria Sala I don’t want to swim among riddles and punsTurning what they crushedInto an inside joke for nimble chess players I don’t want to see you unprotected, burningWhile their plastic foam enticements bounce off a sullen stoneInto the sea I don’t want it I don’t want this fight for aContinue reading ““Here This Memory” by Ilaria Maria Sala”
Category Archives: poetry
“Bilingual (Occasional)” by Chris Tse
Bilingual (Occasional) by Chris Tse Re-learning a language with a rock in my mouth—the slow back . and forth as I think in different lives—translation being a taste . of the oldest past, further back than what the first word can contain . insomuch as any singular, abandoned definition is a spark thatContinue reading ““Bilingual (Occasional)” by Chris Tse”
“Are We Dead Yet?” by Ilaria Maria Sala
Are We Dead Yet?by Ilaria Maria Sala How many times are we going to die?You keep repeating that we are dead—And then you say we are dead again.What I don’t know isIf you think we were alive in between the deaths. You said we were deadBut the truly dead don’t cry. They don’t bleed. TheyContinue reading ““Are We Dead Yet?” by Ilaria Maria Sala”
“The Day They Blocked the Tolo Highway” by Kate Kwan
The Day They Blocked the Tolo Highwayby Kate Kwan I had a concert to attendand Kowloon was on the other end.There was no way to passthe island shrouded in tears and gas.Rocks were thrown and cars were burnt.I used to read books there, now it has turned red. Colours have different meanings now.Red is notContinue reading ““The Day They Blocked the Tolo Highway” by Kate Kwan”
“Hedgehogs in Fog” by Nicole Lai
Hedgehogs in Fogby Nicole Lai June 2019, Admiralty. How to cite: Lai, Nicole. “Hedgehogs in Fog.” Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, 01 Nov. 2020, hkprotesting.com/2020/11/01/fog/. Photograph © Oliver Farry. After graduating from the MA in Literary and Comparative Studies at Hong Kong Baptist University, Nicole Lai now works in the field of education innovation at Hong Kong University ofContinue reading ““Hedgehogs in Fog” by Nicole Lai”
“Grey Days” by Renee Melchert Thorpe
Grey Daysby Renee Melchert Thorpe Rashed and raw Hong Kong,I heave a grey day sigh.Out there: Dense, low figmentsclamp the city, misting the favouredand the forgotten, any and all. This secret rooftop escape is a good placeto look down on the fog,while at the same time,this rough brick, resisting old paint, makes it a rushtoContinue reading ““Grey Days” by Renee Melchert Thorpe”
“Yellow Stains on Your Chinese Blue” by Felix Chow
Yellow Stains on Your Chinese Blueby Felix Chow It is impolite to wake the dying, silvery maotai on their lips.You were taught to love the old. They love Mao, and voteblue. Can you love them still? Too yellow for your Chinese skin. Said yeh yehchopping peppercorns, their scent a reminderof the birds teargassed to bits.Continue reading ““Yellow Stains on Your Chinese Blue” by Felix Chow”
“Flowers” by Ysabelle Cheung
Flowersby Ysabelle Cheung on tuesday a new flower shop opened in our neighborhoodand immediately announced it was going out of business. lilies for a dollar, orchids for two, and everywhere i saw people with bouquets for the flowers would soon be extinct. There had been reports of how they were tired of life and howContinue reading ““Flowers” by Ysabelle Cheung”
“Up Against the Walls” and “The Social Life of Bricks” by Ilaria Maria Sala
Two Poemsby Ilaria Maria Sala UP AGAINST THE WALLS Do the walls talk, where you are now? Do they scream? Do they burst out with exclamation marks?Or maybe they are silenced, like ours? I often wonder if you can understand meIf you can understand all of usAs we are here, up against the wallsLetting our eyes glideContinue reading ““Up Against the Walls” and “The Social Life of Bricks” by Ilaria Maria Sala”
“An Elephant of Foam—Under COVID-19” by Chan Lai-kuen
An Elephant of Foam—Under COVID-19by Chan Lai-kuen July 2020 You know and I knowThere is something hereAn elephant of foamJust we do not talk about itAbout where it comes fromThey know and we knowAnd they know that we knowWhere it comes fromAnd how it floatsA blanket around meA blanket around youIt’s bigIt’s warmIt’s the colourContinue reading ““An Elephant of Foam—Under COVID-19” by Chan Lai-kuen”
“Value 3: Fairness, Impartiality, and Compassion in All our Dealings” by Jason S Polley
☂☂☂☂☂Value 3: Fairness, Impartiality, and Compassion in All our Dealingsby Jason S Polley Take Five.(New Territories Rooftop.)On the privilegiosity of the limousine caste.I never thought that Hong Kong would become this situation because no one would know that the government is being so strong to refuse to apologise and doing any change for this TheContinue reading ““Value 3: Fairness, Impartiality, and Compassion in All our Dealings” by Jason S Polley”
“There is a Season Waiting Behind This One” by Collier Nogues
There is a Season Waiting Behind This Oneby Collier Nogues Editor’s Note: This poem was specially commissioned for “The Writing Life Beyond COVID-10: A Virtual Residency” (3-9 August 2020, jointly organised by Cha: An Asian Literary Journal and the newly founded Mongrel Writers Residence. Photograph © Oliver Farry. How to cite: Nogues, Collier. “There is a Season Waiting Behind ThisContinue reading ““There is a Season Waiting Behind This One” by Collier Nogues”
“The End of Policing” by Cheng Tim Tim
The End of Policingby Cheng Tim Tim —thinking HK, China, the US, Greece, the Philippines, Kenya and elsewhereIt’s easier to dream of the end of Covid-19 / than the end of policing. I can think of the day / when the curve is flattened to alarm almost no one / but I can’t think ofContinue reading ““The End of Policing” by Cheng Tim Tim”
“Roads ∙ Square ∙ Roads (道路 ∙ 廣場 ∙ 道路)” by Stuart Lau 劉偉成, translated by Karen Hung Curtis
☂☂☂☂☂Roads ∙ Square ∙ Roads by Stuart Lau 劉偉成, translated by Karen Hung Curtis ROADS ∙ SQUARE ∙ ROADS When roads are opened by umbrellasinto a squarecars stop to erase our memorywith their wheelswe look for the rain we’ve been praying forthe heart of the square has no centreour armour, take roots in dreamsthe rainContinue reading ““Roads ∙ Square ∙ Roads (道路 ∙ 廣場 ∙ 道路)” by Stuart Lau 劉偉成, translated by Karen Hung Curtis”
“Divergent Views on the Hong Kong Protests” by Michael O’Sullivan
☂☂☂☂☂Divergent Views on the Hong Kong Protestsby Michael O’Sullivan ICOLINThe Protests Make for Good TV The protests make for good TVI’ve let my hair and Netflix goThere’s bombs and guns and tear gas roundsBetter than any other show I protest surf, discredit content threadsTelegram, LIHKG, even check out TVB,The violence, feeds, and content drops areContinue reading ““Divergent Views on the Hong Kong Protests” by Michael O’Sullivan”
Two Poems (詩兩首) by Cao Shuying 曹疏影, translated by Andrea Lingenfelter
☂☂☂☂☂Two Poems (詩兩首)by Cao Shuying 曹疏影, translated by Andrea Lingenfelter AN EYE FOR AN EYE the time came andall of the lights shot into my eyeand were extinguished before that instanti wanted so much to let all this lightlinger like that in our most cherished, most tender spots all that we love deeply and holdContinue reading “Two Poems (詩兩首) by Cao Shuying 曹疏影, translated by Andrea Lingenfelter”
Two Poems (詩兩首) by Derek Chung 鍾國強, translated by Tammy Lai-Ming Ho
☂☂☂☂☂Two Poems (詩兩首)by Derek Chung 鍾國強, translated by Tammy Lai-Ming Ho FORGET NOT Forgetting is near. What are we rushing to clamber over?Blood and sweat of three million people only to demand a fictive rope?Are there balloons up there? Only billowing clouds As though the screaming across the city has muted its own criesTurning into fistsContinue reading “Two Poems (詩兩首) by Derek Chung 鍾國強, translated by Tammy Lai-Ming Ho”
Four Poems (詩四首) by Liu Waitong 廖偉棠, translated by Lucas Klein
☂☂☂☂☂Four Poems (詩四首) by Liu Waitong 廖偉棠, translated by Lucas Klein TWO MILLION AND ONE After white snow is black snowafter two million is two million and one.The numbers that come after will always add onto himtattoos coming after will always seep bloodyou cannot remove his raincoat. After yellow is a golden torrentto replace theContinue reading “Four Poems (詩四首) by Liu Waitong 廖偉棠, translated by Lucas Klein”
“Combustion Continuum” by Leo Cosmiano Baltar
Combustion Continuumby Leo Cosmiano Baltar I can only eye everything fromhere: the lampshade, peering through partial darkness; weekend magazines, scattered on the floor. I must have forgotten to stack them in pile. Outside, a waterscape. The evening news before me knows no subsiding. It accelerates across the room like exhaust gases exiting a flue. Headlines in spontaneous ignition. A blinding heat. Equal parts consuming and exposing.Continue reading ““Combustion Continuum” by Leo Cosmiano Baltar”
Hong Kong Protesting 