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Live Encounters Aotearoa New Zealand Poets & Writers April 2023
The raindrops, poems by Hua Dai
The raindrops
Connect
the clouds in heaven
with roaming antelopes on earth
Wind
connects the past
with the present
onwards to the future
Thoughts
connect the mind of one with another
desires
connect the heart of one with the desired
Intentions
connect
ideas with reality
Missiles
connect
one country with the other
in war
Roots underground
connect trees that seemingly stand apart above ground
at the same time
connect trees
with the land and its nutrients
they stand upon
We are never alone
In peace
In war
In joy
in sorrow
Do not do unto the other
What you don’t want for yourself
Five minutes on TV
Is enough for one to notice
The world is still at war
Earthquakes, floods, poisoning at girls’ schools
The reporters, journalists
And government agencies
Take clear sides
East, West, democracy and religion
You are wrong,
I am right
You are bad
I am good,
The divide deepens, the war continues
Humanity suffers
We are united
Struggling
In
The same
Storm
A tree has fallen in the tiny forest next to my property
A tree in the reserve
Next to my property
Had fallen
During the stormy night
On the ground
Without a fuss, a cry
Nor her struggle to be witnessed
She lays there peacefully and quietly
On the floor in the tiny forest
While other tress still standing and birds chirping
In their branches
Some of her root is still in the soil
Torn off from her as she must have struggled to withstand the wind
I came upon it on my morning walk,
Did not know who to contact
Or let known of her fall
Who is her carer?
Who needs to know when she is no longer standing in the forest?
The birds know and the neighbouring trees know
The wind know
And Papatuanuku the mother earth know
And I know
I feel like honouring this witness of her having fallen
With this poem
© Hua Dai
Born in 1966 in the onset of the Cultural Revolution in China. Hua Dai has lived in New Zealand for over 20 years now, working part-time as a senior lecturer of learning development at a tertiary institute while also doing her PhD part-time. Dai is a published poet in China. She is happy to contribute to this NZ edition of Live Encounters. Her work appeared in the Auckland City Council New Kiwi Women Write Their Stories Anthology (2014). She has also read poems at the Open Mike nights of Thirsty Dog Pub in Auckland City.
Beautiful poems Hua.