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Island 89

口口日本吞中華
同胞合力思齊家
口口齊家次治國
他日富強滅倭奴

Japan swallows China.
All my compatriots must unite to regulate our homes.
When our homes are regulated, then the state becomes properly governed.
When we become prosperous and strong, we will annihilate the dwarves.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

Island 25

中秋偶感

夜涼僵臥鐵床中
窗前月姊透照儂
悶來起立寒窗下
愁把時計已秋中
吾儕也應同敬賞
菲儀無備亦羞容

Random Thoughts at Mid-Autumn Festival

The night is cool as I lie stiff on the steel bunk.
Before the window, the moon lady shines on me.
Bored, I get up and stand beneath the cold window.
Sadly, I count the time that's elapsed; it is already mid-autumn.
We should all honor and enjoy her.
But I have not prepared even the most trifling gift, and I feel embarrassed.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

Island 90

家道貧窮走呂宋
誰知借路亦牢籠
木樓凄涼不堪問
皆因兵弱國庫空
寄語諸君齊發奮
勿忘國恥振英雄

My family was poor, so I was going to Lüsong.
Who would have known this would be a prison even for those just passing through?
One cannot bear to ask about the loneliness in the wooden building.
It is all because of a militarily weak nation with an empty national treasury.
I leave word with you gentlemen that you should all endeavor together.
Do not forget the national humiliations; arouse yourselves to be heroic.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

Translations:
Lai, H. Mark, Genny Lim, and Judy Yung, eds. Island: Poetry and History of Chinese Immigrants on Angel Island, 1910-1940. Second edition. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2014.