Wang Ping | "Things We Carry On The Sea"
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In this week's episode of the Get Lit Minute, your weekly poetry podcast, we spotlight the life and work of poet, Wang Ping. She is poet, writer, photographer, performance and multimedia artist. Her publications have been translated into multiple languages and include poetry, short stories, novels, cultural studies, and children's stories. Her multimedia exhibitions address global themes of industrialization, the environment, interdependency, and the people. Source
This episode includes a reading of her poem, "Things We Carry On The Sea."
"Things We Carry On The Sea"
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We carry tears in our eyes: good-bye father, good-bye mother
We carry soil in small bags: may home never fade in our hearts
We carry names, stories, memories of our villages, fields, boats
We carry scars from proxy wars of greed
We carry carnage of mining, droughts, floods, genocides
We carry dust of our families and neighbors incinerated in mushroom clouds
We carry our islands sinking under the sea
We carry our hands, feet, bones, hearts and best minds for a new life
We carry diplomas: medicine, engineer, nurse, education, math, poetry, even if they mean nothing to the other shore
We carry railroads, plantations, laundromats, bodegas, taco trucks, farms, factories, nursing homes, hospitals, schools, temples\\u2026built on our ancestors\\u2019 backs
We carry old homes along the spine, new dreams in our chests
We carry yesterday, today and tomorrow
We\\u2019re orphans of the wars forced upon us
We\\u2019re refugees of the sea rising from industrial wastes
And we carry our mother tongues
\\u7231(ai)\\uff0c\\u062d\\u0628\\xa0 (hubb), \\u05dc\\u05d9\\u05d1\\u05e2 (libe), amor, love
\\u5e73\\u5b89 (ping\\u2019an), \\u0633\\u0644\\u0627\\u0645 ( salaam), shalom, paz, peace
\\u5e0c\\u671b (xi\\u2019wang), \\u0623\\u0645\\u0644 (\\u2019amal), hofenung, esperanza, hope, hope, hope
As we drift\\u2026in our rubber boats\\u2026from shore\\u2026to shore\\u2026to shore\\u2026
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