Short Stories of Randomness

Angel Island Poems

I KNOW THIS ISN'T A SHORT STORY :) BUT PLEASE READ. I ALSO DID NOT WRITE ANY OF THESE POEMS; I WANTED TO SHARE THESE MEANINGFUL POEMS TO YOU GUYS, SO PLEASE ENJOY! ^_^

THIS WILL BE A CHAPTER OF THE POEMS WRITTEN IN THE WALLS OF ANGEL ISLAND BAY SAN FRANCISCO, CA. BY THE CHINESE IMMIGRANTS WHO WERE FORCED TO BE DETAINED THERE FOR MANY DAYS, WEEKS, AND MONTHS.

THEY WERE KEPT IN A WOODEN BUILDIING 24 HOURS A DAY AND RECEIVE LITTLE AMOUNT OF OUTSIDE TIME.

ANGEL ISLAND STAYED IN OPERATION FROM 1910 TO 1940. THE CHINESE EXCLUSION ACT WAS PASSED DURING THAT TIME. THAT IS WHY THE CHINESE IMMIGRATNS WERE FORCED TO STAY THERE. SOME WERE DEPORTED TO OTHER STATIONS OR SENT BACK TO THEIR NATIVE COUNTRY.

MORE THAN 135 OF THESE POEMS HAVE BEEN RECORDED. THE POEMS I HAVE HERE, IS SIMPLY JUST THE BEGINNING. THERE ARE STILL MANY MORE POEMS UNRECOGNIZED AND UNREADABLE.

THE POEMS EXPRESS A RANGE OF THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS-- LONGING, SORROW, AND PERSONAL AVOWELS -- ABOUT DEALING WITH THE HARDSHIPS OF MIGRATING SO FAR AWAY FROM HOME AND THE DIFFICULTIES THEY ALL ENDURED.

SO READ ON AND FEEL THE MEANINGS OF EACH POEM THAT HOLDS WITHIN. :)

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It's been a long time since I left my home village

who could know I'd end up imprisoned

in a wooden building?

I'm heartsick when I see my reflection,

my handkerchief is soaked in tears

I ask you, what crime did I commit

to deserve this?

--Li Hai of Nancun, Taishan

Dwelling in the wooden building,

I give vent to despair

Searching for a living while perching

on a mountain-- it's hard to earn glory

Letters do not arrive, my thoughts

in vain

In bitterness and sadness,

I watch for my early release

--Unsigned

THE OX POEM

Instead of remaining a citizen of China, I willingly became an ox.

I intended to come to America to earn a living

The western styled building are lofty; but I have not the luck to live in them.

How was anyone to know that my dwelling place would be a prison?

THE DEPARTING POEM

Detained in this wooden house for several tens of days,

It is all because of the Chinese Exclusion Law which implicates me.

It's a pity heroes have no way of exercising their prowess.

I can only await the word so that I can snap Zu's whip.

From now on, I'm departing far from this building.

All of my fellow villagers are rejoicing with me.

Don't say that everything within is Western styled.

Even if it is built of jade, it has turned into a cage.

THE REVENGE POEM

Leaving behind my writing brush and removing my sword, I came to America.

Who was to know the streams of tears would flow upon arriving here?

If there comes a day when I will have attained my ambition and become successful,

I will certainly behead the barbarians and spare not a single blade of grass.

THE HERO POEM

Being idle in the wooden building, I opened a window.

The morning breeze and bright moon lingered together.

I reminisce the native village far away, cut off by clouds and mountains.

On the little island the wailing of cold, wild geese can be faintly heard.

The hero who has lost his way can talk meaninglessly of the sword.

The poet at the end of the road can only ascend a tower.

One should know that when the country is weak, the people's spirit dies.

Why else do we come to this place to be imprisoned?

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THESE ARE THE POEMS THAT MY SISTER AND I MADE TO DEDICATE THE TROUBLED IMMIGRANTS. I HOPE YOU GUYS LIKED THIS CHAPTER ^_^ COMMENT OR WHATEVER.

In a wooden building the people stayed,

For weeks and months they sat and wait,

For freedom to come

And help them escape.

They, is who endured the pain

Whose strength is spent in vain

Whose tears were like rain

Whose life was maddly insane

A thousand hearts on a boat,

Waiting to see the life abroad.

Just to find it a fraud

Because greedy hearts were involved.

Thank you so much for reading this far. ^_^