酷我-北美枫

ericcoliu

Welcome to Canada.

Name, Chen-ou Liu (phonic)
Country of Birth. R.O.C
Cross out R.O.C. Fill in Taiwan
Place of Birth. Date of Birth. Marital Status ...
Are followed by numerous questions.
The Immigration Officer tries to pin down my borders
He is always looking for shortcuts
More interested in my roadside signposts than
The landscape that carries my journey
The lines he wants me confined to
Are recognizably racialized categories.
Now, you’re legally a landed immigrant
Take one copy of A NEWCOMER’S INTRODUCTION TO CANADA.

Ethnicity

I didn't have an ethnicity
Until I immigrated to Canada.
This Jew, this South Asian, this Arab
This one with a Chinese face
Walking down Spadina to Dundas
I daily face this immigrant,
This man with my own face
Being called Chinese by white Canadians
Mandarin-speaking person in Chinatown
Taiwanese amid people from Hong Kong
Taiwan-centered Chinese among mainland Chinese.

Chinese or Canadian

If I am unavoidably Chinese by descent
I am only sometimes Chinese by consent
When and how is a matter of politics.
If I am legitimately Canadian by legal procedures
I am oftentimes a mere Canadian by multicultural rhetoric
What and where is a matter of choice.

Where Is My Home?

Where is my home?
It is Taipei, Republic of China, aka Taiwan
Where I was born and raised and complained about
Or County of Mount Dragon, Hunan, People’s Republic of China
Where my father came from and I never set foot
Or Beijing, People’s Republic of China
Where I had been indoctrinated about the center of my fatherland
Or Ajax, Ontario, Canada
Where I now live and have a piece of property
Or Toronto, Canada
Where I meet and exchange ideas with people across the globe
Where then is my Home?
My Home is within me

The Journey Home

The passage of immigration is a move away from home to Home
Conjured up as embarking on a pilgrimage
From the geographical location to the spiritual abode.
Whereas the small home remains on the constant move
The home with a capitalized H is erected as a final destination.
Home therefore signifies an eternal pursuit for immigrants
Who always strive to make themselves at home.
_________________
Time is nothing but a disquiet of the soul

星子 · 发表于: 星期三十月 31, 2007 2:04 pm 发表主题:

interesting...

like a very short journey, smacks humor... Very Happy

_________________

ericcoliu · 发表于: 星期三十月 31, 2007 5:07 pm 发表主题:

Thanks for your reading of and commenting on my writing.

Champagne · 发表于: 星期三十月 31, 2007 7:40 pm 发表主题:

ericcoliu · 发表于: 星期四十一月 01, 2007 9:26 am 发表主题:

Lake · 发表于: 星期四十一月 01, 2007 11:06 am 发表主题:

I carry home on my back?

But that tortoiseshell
makes me breathless.
I’d get rid of it, like
a butterfly
breaking free
from the cocoon
with the spirit to fly.

I read a bothered, unsettled mind in your poems, Eric.

Cheers,

Lake

ericcoliu · 发表于: 星期四十一月 01, 2007 5:43 pm 发表主题:

Hi! Lake:

Thanks for your reading of and commenting on my writing.

Champagne · 发表于: 星期五十一月 02, 2007 3:43 pm 发表主题:

Champagne · 发表于: 星期五十一月 02, 2007 4:21 pm 发表主题:

ericcoliu · 发表于: 星期六十一月 03, 2007 1:23 pm 发表主题:

ericcoliu · 发表于: 星期六十一月 10, 2007 10:56 am 发表主题:

Hyphened Identity

Are you Chinese?
Yes.
Really Chinese?
No, I was born in Taiwan.
Are you Canadian?
Yes.
Really Canadian?
Well, you see my skin color.
But I would rather say
No to neither Chinese nor Canadian.
Because the homes I’ve had,
The ways I’ve become.
I would say
Yes twice to your questions.
I am Chinese-Canadian.
_________________
Time is nothing but a disquiet of the soul