菲莎河畔之感 曹小莉 2017 10
Poem by Shirley Sue-A-Quan （曹小莉）
Translated by Shirley and Trev Sue-A-Quan （曹小莉蘇阿冠合譯）
Dear Fraser River,
Look at the silver flashes on your surface，
The reflection of an old man fishing in the river
Wild geese perched on the shore,
Crickets singing in the grass.
Huge logs float in the water,
waiting to be transported far and wide.
Purple roses and blackberries add beauty to each other,
Squirrels jump to yield way to passing dogs.
When did these tall cranes appear in the air?
Real estate investments have come to this best kept secret area
Huge advertisements claim proudly and loudly,
that this is the last river front treasure of Vancouver.
Elegantly dressed men and ladies,
Eloquent real estate agents,
Pushing the price like waves higher and higher
700 square feet condos for only 800,000 dollars,
The color of money glitters more brightly than all of Nature’s beauty
People are signing and talking,
Vancouver is no longer the one we remember
Gold diggers, house flippers, shadow dealers
Luxurious mansions sprout like mushrooms after rain.
It is the current fashion of a new business.
How can we tell our descendants?
Here by the water there were hundreds of geese, birds, sea gulls,
Branches and bushes full of berries
And a big river shining with silver flashes .
Houses were for people to reside ,
Ordinary folks could afford to live in this city,
Parents, grandparents and kids could live nearby
Will this once beautiful reality become a distant dream that cannot be reached ?
August 25, 2018 Vancouver
