Before I Forget....

Written on leaving China...

The China stint is over,

There’s only a week to go,

I packed up a box of souvenirs

And trudged to the ‘you zheng ju’,

They cost me an arm and leg to send

By ‘shui lu lu xin jian,’

I just have to pack a suitcase now,

Say ‘ron’ to a special friend.

 

The apartment’s almost empty,

It looks quite bare, forlorn,

As bare as the heart I gave to them

The people of old Zhejiang,

Their lives will go on without me now

As I head to the ‘Fei ji chang,’

But I take my memories, every one

To the land where I come from.

 

The children dancing at ‘Dou Mei Li,’

At the end of Wendi Lu,

The neon signs, the disco bars

And the Chimp from the Wenzhou Zoo,

The rat-tat-chatter of Chinese girls

The smiles from a Chinese cop,

The crazy lady at Ming Hang Lu

At the ‘I am your friend’-ly shop.

 

The buses rattling by non-stop

That take you to who knows where,

The moonlight rides in a trike, red top,

The crazies that drive ‘Jiao Che’s’,

All this I’ll remember while travelling home,

Then back to my life before,

But many a Chinese Moon will wane

Before I forget Zhong guo!

 

David Lewis Paget

  

(Glossary and Pronunciation:

you zheng ju (Yo jung jew) - the Post Office

Shui lu lu xin jian (Shway loo loo shin jen) - Surface Mail

ron - Aussie expression - ‘Catch ya late(r on).

Zhejiang (Ger - as in Germany - jang) - A Chinese Province.

Fei ji chang (Fay gee chang) - airport.

Dou mei li (Doe may lee) - Do&Me - Chicken place like KFC

Wendi Lu (Wendy Loo) - Wendi Street.

Ming Hang Lu (Meen Haang Loo) - Ming Hang Street.

‘I am your friend’ is the one English phrase known by this lady.

Jiao Che (Jow - as in ouch - Tchur) - Taxi

Zhong guo (Jong gwor) - China.

Reviews

[Saumya]

womderful..!!!