{"id":3514,"date":"2014-11-17T07:20:18","date_gmt":"2014-11-17T12:20:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vweisfeld.com\/?p=3514"},"modified":"2014-12-13T07:36:47","modified_gmt":"2014-12-13T12:36:47","slug":"the-fragrant-harbor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vweisfeld.com\/?p=3514","title":{"rendered":"*****The Fragrant Harbor"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Hong<\/a>

(photo: c2.staticflickr.com)<\/p><\/div>\n

By Vida Chu<\/strong> – I don’t usually review poetry, it being strictly a case of “I know what I like,” but my friend Vida Chu has published a lovely, evocative collection of 43 poems, The Fragrant Harbor <\/em>(Hong Kong),<\/em> and I like it a great deal.<\/p>\n

Her poems recall the legends of ancient China and the terrors of the Cultural Revolution, the dislocation of being far from one\u2019s roots and finding home, and the attenuation of family relationships across generations. In beautifully quiet images, she indelibly describes Hong Kong, writing (\u201cFragrant Harbor\u201d):<\/p>\n

The city\u2019s colored lights and stars
\nEmbroider the velvet water.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I especially liked the poems that recall the days of scholars and monks, Emperors and concubines (from \u201cThings I Never Told You About Chinese Painting\u201d):<\/p>\n

That Wu Daozi once brushed a huge landscape
\nonto the palace wall. When he pointed to the grotto
\nand clapped his hands, the entrance opened.<\/p>\n

He stepped inside the painting
\nand disappeared
\nin front of the Emperor\u2019s eyes.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The family dynamics Chu describes in many of the poems are universal. What people leave unsaid, the haunting family ghosts, moments of joy (from \u201cWedding Rain\u201d):<\/p>\n

With rings on their fingers
\nThe couple sobbed in each other\u2019s arms
\nThe heavens applauded with a downpour<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Like all \u00e9migr\u00e9s, always a bit out of time and place, and in a way that for her has sharpened her perceptions, Chu also describes her roots in America (from \u201cForeign Students\u201d):<\/p>\n

Our lives no longer can be packed in suitcases.
\nWe return to visit as tourists.<\/p>\n

We have grown complacent in the rich feeding ground.
\nWe have lost the passion to swim upstream.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is a collection to read time and again. A special gift for a special person. Yourself? Enjoy!
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