Heart in Tianjin...

Never remember, never forget.

Black and white keyboards

On which a pianist’s fingertips are dancing.

The audience totally lost in the tune,

Bathing in the warm sunshine, eyes closed.

Forest full of crimson leaves,

Paths back cannot be found.

He, walking slowly and heavily

With majestic sword in hand.

A tearful swan,

Glides on the murmuring water under the silent moon;

Heading for her love, far away.

Full of sadness, but hopeful.

O serene night, a nightingale sings to you elegantly;

Silver billows ripple in the pure moonlight.

Playing a harp,

Venus is calmly waiting for her precious Mars.

The car came to her before he could pop the question.

Soul left today; rushed out of this girl,

Sitting quietly near his beloved, tenderly whispering, though she wouldn’t hear:

“Will you marry me?”

Dancing wind, dancing leaves, dancing shadow,

Plain white, dead yellow, flaming red,

Memory fragments, gushing out.

Never remember, never forget.

Just the Way I Am

Moon rises up on a cold night

On the quiet sea floats a lonely boat.

No wind, no sound.

Who is she trying to find?

White swan dances on limpid lake,

Injured by noise and loneliness.

With the graceful melody of violin,

Draws beautiful arcs under the moon.

With moonlight shadow,

The pure swan is wandering on the lake like it doesn’t belong.

With dim light of fireflies,

An innocent girl is dancing on the grassland, lost and alone.

Now, she, a ballet dancer, on stage,

turning around and around.

The girl, in red, leaving her debris behind,

Running forward and forward,

Not external appearance but internal soul

Weak but strong.

Ten years later, through a silent alley, an old couple wandering,

French parasol tree shadows the alley,

Finally accompanied by you,

Soft music streaming from a café.

You heard a song pirouette from my heart,

Tender, peaceful and a bit solitary.

You indeed missed me,

Like I know you would.

You love me just the way I am.

An Enchanting Drift

She sails deep into the forest down the river

With heart as cool as the glistening water

Moon high up in the sky

She floats and drifts with no notice of time going by

The breeze silently caresses the ripples

Wakes up her memory, desires, disappointments

The moon shines palely on the ground

Silhouettes mystery and secrets

A familiar scene illuminated: she a snowflake drifts with the maple leaf

Falling with blue moonlight just as a droplet of rain returns to the stream

As tear drops collect in desperate hearts

Wholeness and incompleteness in constant battle 

Looking at the ripples of water

Sorrow suddenly leaves her

Times passes but hope is eternal

Things may change but life is always meaningful

How passionate the light which spotlights her ballet dream

On the lake moonlight shimmers

Up on the stage, dancing lissomly, flying swiftly with enthusiasm

Uproar in the heavens vanishes

She would have it no other way

An angelic journey alone

Without expectation

Contemplation sans bitterness

The dance over, the dream fading, calm lake comes back into focus

Loneliness suddenly has no definition as a new heart takes flight

As she remembers sorrow and sweetness

Mr. Darcy, for whom she is waiting, emerges from the distance

This is where I live, but this is my home

   “This is where I live, but this is my home,” Jin Guang Zhong said pointing to a painting combining the Great Wall of China and the Holy city of Jerusalem. Over 1,000 years ago, his ancestors decided to settle in Kaifeng, China. They were Persian merchants traveling the Silk Road, trading their highly valued cotton cloth. The Jin family, as well as six other clans, were given their Chinese family names by a Ming emperor during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). These seven clans adapted well to Chinese society, but made sure to keep their religious customs. Though they intermarried with the Chinese and scored high on civil servant exams, becoming Chinese government officials, they still insisted on preserving their religious traditions: they built synagogues, learned under rabbis and the Torah, kept the Sabbath and Jewish holidays, and observed dietary laws. The continual flooding of the Yellow River, however, as well as intermarriage, took its toll on the Kaifeng Jews. In the mid 1800s, with no place of worship and few elders to lead them, the Kaifeng Jews had pretty much lost all of their customs and language. In the early 1900s, with no one to help them translate their Torah scrolls, the remaining Kaifeng Jews sold them to Christian missionaries. It seemed that the end of a people was at hand. At its highest point, the Chinese Jewish community had 5000 members. Presently, only a couple hundred Jews reside in Kaifeng, Henan province.

   Today, despite the fact that the Kaifeng Jews look Chinese and speak Mandarin and do not have a synagogue in which to worship, there is a great desire among them to immerse themselves in their Jewish roots. Their mission: return to Israel, the home in their heart. 

   I was warmly welcomed into Jin’s house. Hanging on the wall was the Israeli flag and scriptures from the Torah. I saw the menorah displayed on the kitchen table, the Torah on the bookshelf, and mezuzahs affixed to the door posts. We sat down and he told of his elder brother and eldest daughter who are now living in Israel. He spoke of the Sabat meetings that are held Friday nights, where members of the Jewish community come together to learn about their faith. I met Jin’s wife and 1-year-old daughter, Ha-Da-Sa (Hadassah). His wife knits yarmulkas and prayer shawls to support the family. They are preparing their youth for their Israel homecoming with foreign instruction of the Torah, Hebrew, and English. Eventually, they hope all of Kaifeng’s Jews will be able to immigrate to Israel.

      Jin took me to the cemetery where nine generations of his ancestors are buried. I was moved by Jin’s commitment to his family, his faith. His thirst for knowledge and yearning to honor his forbearers was compelling. I told him through a translator that I admired his dedication to his kin and heritage. His answer: “I’m simply obeying God.” In his obedience, I believe Jin and his people will soon find themselves whole and fulfilled in Israel, their home.  

     Look at these broken, broken hands. I actually use them for something. It’s hard to believe but they are able to type, and I can draw and use a tablet with them, even a mouse. Here I go, I will type for you; I will show you that I can type. People are sometimes impressed that I can type—fast, fast, so fast. It comes natural to me; I don’t even think. As I hit the keys—click, click, click, clack. Some people can’t even type. I am grateful I can at least do this. I often think when I look at myself in the mirror that it is amazing that I am even alive. The machine helps me take breaths, an electric wheelchair to let me move around, and here I am typing, communicating through a computer, making videos that can be seen by anyone. It doesn’t make any sense at times, and I have come to sometimes not to be impressed; it’s almost a crime—not to be impressed. But we’re overwhelmed, and the extraordinary becomes more ordinary. I hope my hands have touched you—through your eyes to your heart.

对我的朋友和学生,

我想要祝愿你们大家圣诞快乐，充分幸福，意思和喜悦在意料一个明亮的新年。当您将回到您的家庭，时刻来临。珍惜您的时间与他们。

Yours,

Josh (Mr. Parker)

Dear Friends,

I would like to invite you all to contribute to a great project which I am undertaking.  I am planning on publishing a book of poetry and its translation next term, and I want to include you in this work.  I believe you all possess the creative ability to make this book better than I could ever imagine.  Your work has amazed me in the past, and I would love for all of you to be a part of my first publishing endeavor. 

If you are interested in contributing, please write a poem of any subject matter (remember, a poem doesn't necessarily have to rhyme) and then underneath it, include the Chinese translation.  Please write your Chinese name in Pin Yin after the poem and translation and include your hometown and province.  E-mail your poem to me at: hans_22_@hotmail.com (Please include your English name and class number on the subject line of the e-mail). 

I am excited about this opportunity for us to be writers together!

Yours sincerely,

Josh (Mr. Parker)  

Spring Got Cold

Spring Festival is well known as the most important traditional festival in China. A whole family will get together to celebrate it on its eve. As it is considered as the beginning of spring, adding the lively atmosphere, it ought to be a warm festival. However, the situation in my family has changed.

When I was still a child, I remember having a big family, which was made up of eight people from three small families. They are my grandparents who are my mother’s parents, my aunt who is my mother’s elder sister, uncle and their twin daughters and my parents and I. All of them would come to my home to celebrate the Spring Festival together on New Year’s Eve. My father and uncle cooked delicious food and the rest of us made Chiao-zi. And then, we ate and chatted happily. After dinner, the adults would watch TV programs or play mahjong for fun. At the same time, we children would go outside to let off some fireworks, which were extremely beautiful because of not only the fireworks themselves, but also because of harmonious reunion. When the clock struck 12 o’clock, the loud sound of firecrackers sprang up, and we all cheered excitedly. Meanwhile, Chiao-zi would be cooked. It was the time I looked forward to most. I loved the laughter of my family, the sound of boiling water and even the noise of the firecrackers. Nevertheless, the air on Spring Festival changed after my aunt and uncle got divorced. Since then, only my grandparents and aunt would come to my home on that day while my two sisters were taken to their grandma’s, their father’s mother’s. We just cooked and had dinner, talked about something, watched TV and then sent them home. Our family got smaller, the air became less lively and the spring that should have been warm got cold.

To hear a piece of silence

Searching from the deep heart

I find peace and relax

Waking up, the sun shines above

Turn around, you raise me up

Take your heart, smile and never give up

Lying on the green grass

Gazing at the blue sky

Clouds blowing slowly above my eyes

Bathing in the sunshine

I'm enjoying the wonderful life

Just as the mysterious

Notes come from heaven

In the warm sunshine of autumn

Following you into dream silently

Falling leaves dance in the autumn sunset

Love, sorrow and sweetness

That's all past

Setting sun, grey sky, blue sea

The tide is tapping the seaside slightly

A fish is brought to the beach

When the sunset dances on the leaves

When the moonlight pours into the river

The peace in your eyes leads me to paradise

One night, one boat, one heart

Loneliness, sadness, powerless

Time to say goodbye