大龙与天后 (The Great Dragon and the Heavenly Empress)

By Alisha Wong, 16

A dragon and an empress rest in my living room,

Expressions austere and pensive

As I ask what molded his talons and fangs;

Forged his vermillion scales;

What painted her lips red;

How she learned to bow with such grandeur.

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The dragon tells me he was hunted,

weighted down by the labor from his lords and leaders.

His onyx flames could only scorch a tale of destitution

Inside cages too small for his splayed wings.

His flame dwindles to weary wars

And perpetual pride.

He tells me of his journey towards a new land,

How his wings felt Freedom’s embrace as he arrived

At a new sanctuary.

I ask what he misses from his past,

And fangs glisten

As smoke engulfs me with his memories.

Hills and valleys stretching miles afar,

And the shadowed mid-autumn moon

Casting a benign blanket over his beauty-stricken kingdom.

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The empress weaves a fable from her delicate silk—

Her history echoing the dragon’s tale.

She tells me how she rose to rule her dynasty.

There was no emperor, no prince, no nobles,

Simply a wish

for a new kingdom to reside in.

I ask what she misses from her past,

And painted lips curl upward.

Nostalgic words whisk me back to her land,

Meadows adorned with plum blossoms;

Night skies stippled with scarlet lanterns.

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Their wistfulness uncoils a deep yearning in me,

As I realize I am part of one limitless legend.

Their sacrifices for my blessings

Gift me the flight and power I require

To carry on their legacy.

I will one day be a ruling lady,

An imperial phoenix with mighty wings as vast as

The myths of those who created me.

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My inspiration for 大龙与天后 (The Great Dragon and Heavenly Empress) were my parents. My poem was kind of an ode to how my parents grew up—how traditional yet adventurous their life in China and to America was. I never had the opportunity to live through their generation in China, but I often hear stories of how difficult yet fulfilling it was. I may never get the chance to live through it, but I can create my own stories in my time and continue their legacy in a new kingdom.