World Poetry Celebrates Shirley Sue-A-Quan!

Ariadne’s Notes: The World Poetry Cafe radio show featured the moving poetry of Shirley Sue-A-Quan. Due to a station problem, only 25 minutes of the original show was saved but Hector at the station was able to recover the whole show with World Poetry Ambassador Amita J Sanghavi, on December 19 at 1:10 pm PST and Shirley Sue-A-Quan at 1:30 pm PST.  LISTEN To  Entire The Show Here: http://www.coopradio.org/content/world-poetry-caf%C3%A9-70 .

Then this website went down and I had to get it fixed. I am really behind on posting the features but will try to get them all in as soon as possible. Co-host, Diego Bastinutti, tech Victor Schwartzman and Sharon Rowe.  

Shirley Sue-A-Quan is a talented poet, translator, and part of the Wonderful Chinese Canadian Authors group. Here are two poems in Chinese and English: 

菲莎河畔之感
曹小莉 2017 10
亲爱的菲莎河，
你自崇山峻岭流淌，
沿着温哥华南端，
曲曲弯弯注入海洋。
你是我休憩心灵之所，
你是我拥抱自然之乡。
看河面碎银闪光，
野雁栖息在沙滩，
倒影中老人垂钓，
草丛里蟋蟀歌唱。
巨木成筏漂浮在水面上，
由出海口运往世界八方。
紫玫瑰黑树莓交相辉映，
松鼠鞠躬给小狗让道。
何时间脚手架直插云霄，
地产投资来到这遗忘的近郊
巨大广告雄辩自豪，
这是温哥华最后水边瑰宝。
经纪男女衣装笔挺，
巧舌如簧推波助澜。
七百呎蜗居起价就八十万，
金钱的色彩艳压群芳。
人们都在忧虑叹息，
温哥华已不是记忆中模样。
金钱喧嚣，暗流滚滚而来，
豪宅耸立，炒楼竟成风尚。
我们如何告诉儿孙，
这儿曾有过成群的野雁海鸥，
长满浆果的灌木丛，
和一条闪着银光的大河。
那时候房屋是用来住的，
普通市民都可以成家立业，
父母子女爷孙能够比邻而居，
曾经的美好会否是后代遥远的梦想。

Thoughts By the Fraser River
Poem by Shirley Sue-A-Quan
Translated by Shirley and Trev Sue-A-Quan
Dear Fraser River,
You flow from the high mountain ridge,
winding down to the south end of Vancouver,
Pouring into the ocean.
This riverside is the place to refresh my soul
In a country for me to embrace Nature.
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 a 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 riverfront 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 colour 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?
Hereby the water there were hundreds of geese, birds, seagulls,
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. Shirley Sue-A-Quan (C)

你的嘴唇是玫瑰花瓣
———给十天的小孙女波克琳
你的嘴唇就像玫瑰花瓣
鲜艳欲滴，在脸上开放。
十天你在这世界上，
常酣睡得像泡在蜜里。
有时睁开眼睛，
周围都是喜爱你的神情。
两个小哥哥用手触摸你，
好奇你从何而来。
年轻的父母用爱洒满你，
憧憬你路向何去。
老一辈的我们，
忽然成了大树躯干。
我们的前辈是茁壮的根，
我们托举着你花团锦簇。
曹小莉构思于希腊饭店家庭聚会

2019 August 24
To my 10-day-old darling granddaughter Brooklynn
Your lips are like rose petals
So pretty, blooming in your face.
Ten days you’re in this world,
Sleeping like in a honey land.
Sometimes you open your eyes,
Around you are the looks of love.
Two little brothers touch you,
Wondering where you’re from.
Young parents sprinkle you with love
Imagining where you’re going.
The older generation of us,
Suddenly feel like becoming a tree trunk.
Our forefathers were strong roots,
We hold you in our arms, my blossom.

Shirley Sue -A-Quan (C)