Featured

Island 74

蛟龍失水螻蟻欺
猛虎遭囚小兒戲
被困安敢與爭雄
得勢復仇定有期

The dragon out of water is humiliated by ants;
The fierce tiger that is caged is baited by a child.
As long as I am imprisoned, how can I dare strive for supremacy?
An advantageous position for revenge will surely come one day.

Listen to the poem in Heungshan (Shekki, Long Du) ⏯

Voices 15

[ 動] 程一天關
僻野半年閒
來時容乜易
此處甚艱難

I set out, and one day was locked up;
In a wild place, half a year idle.
Coming here was so easy,
Yet this place is bitter and hard.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

Island 66

留筆除劍到美洲
誰知到此淚雙流
倘若得志成功日
定斬胡人草不留

Leaving behind my writing brush and removing my sword, I came to America.
Who was to know two streams of tears would flow upon arriving here?
If there comes a day when I will have attained my ambition and become successful,
I will certainly behead the barbarians and spare not a single blade of grass.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

Voices 28

華人往美甚艱難
愁盡幾多在此方
番奴特強欺我國
民為富強滅番邦

宣統 [ 二 ] 年二月
寧邑靈 [ 村 ] 人 [ 題 ]
劉口口

It’s hard for Chinese to come to America;
There is so much sadness in this place.
The foreign slaves have always bullied and cheated our country;
When the people are rich and strong, we’ll destroy the foreign lands.

Inscribed by Liu XX
Ning County, Ling Village
2nd Month, 2nd Year of the Xuantong Reign

Listen to the poem in Toishanese ⏯

Translations:
Egan, Charles. Voices of Angel Island: Inscriptions and Immigrant Poetry, 1910-1945. New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2021.
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.