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Island 47

徘徊瞻眺倚窗邊
日月盈昃轉改旋
孔懷兄弟難遇望
淵澄取映浪拋憐

己未年孟春香山谷

Pacing back and forth, I leaned on the windowsill and gazed.
The revolving sun and moon waxed and waned, changing again and again.
I think about my brothers a lot, but we cannot see one another.
The deep, clear water casts reflections as waves toss in sympathy.

Composed in the early spring of the Jiwei year by Guk of Heungshan

Listen to the poem in Heungshan (Shekki) ⏯

Voices 9

山化季節
還我自由
專政苛虐
來日報仇

The season is changing;
Return me my freedom!
Oppressive government and cruel treatment—
One day there will be revenge.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

Island 91

傷我華僑留木屋
實因種界厄瀛臺
摧殘尚說持人道
應悔當初冒險來

I am distressed that we Chinese are detained in this wooden building.
It is actually racial barriers that cause difficulties on Yingtai Island.
Even while they are tyrannical, they still claim to be humanitarian.
I should regret my taking the risks of coming in the first place.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

Island 37

愁似濃雲撥不開
思量愁悶輒徘徊
登樓王粲誰憐苦
去國庾郎只自哀

My grief, like dense clouds, cannot be dispersed.
Whether deliberating or being melancholy and bored, I constantly pace to and fro.
Wang Can ascended the tower, but who pitied his sorrow?
Lord Yu, who left his country, could only wail to himself.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

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.