Gein Wong

Dharmadhatu

I can see the first stone
of the great wall of China
being laid down on the ground.
I remember when olive trees
were free
to grow wherever they wanted.
I can hear the whispers
of people
first starting to call Mohammed a prophet.
I remember when nushu
was a language
still being created.
I remember Mississauga
as more
than the name of a suburb.
And I can feel
the hope
on the Komagatu Maru as it first set sail.
I am not a master of anything,
I am just always trying to imagine becoming one.
Where I can see things for myself,
where history is no longer edited.
I can see the empty Chinatowns during SARS.
I remember when Chavez resisted a coup.
I'm sitting in a Colorado classroom when Ward Churchill was still a professor.
I continue to see over and over when people lost faith in government.

I remember when Obama finished his second term in office
I remember when the first woman was teleported to the moon
I am happy and worried about the first gene modified cure
I relieved that the bird flu was eliminated
I remember when people learned from history
I remember when capitalism stopped corrupting our hearts
I remember when money stopped being essential to life
I remember when lit incense sticks increased, and increased and increased
I remember when Asians had a respected voice in North America.
I remember when police brutality was punished
I remember when the thought of two women intertwined caused no phobias
I remember when racism, systemic racism was recognised
I remember when you found your voice, found your conscience
I remember when the revolution turned from cliched words to reality
I remember smiling when you joined me.