江城子-Poem By Su Shi ( 苏轼)

A great poem by Su Shi (苏轼).
江城子
十年生死兩茫茫。
不思量，自難忘。
千里孤墳，無處話淒涼。
縱使相逢應不識，
塵滿面，鬢如霜。
夜來幽夢忽還鄉，
小軒窗，正梳妝。
相顧無言，惟有淚千行。
料得年年腸斷處：
明月夜，短松岡。

Ten years living and dead have drawn apart
I do nothing to remember
But I can not forget
Your lonely grave a thousand miles away ...
Nowhere can I talk of my sorrow --
Even if we met, how would you know me
My face full of dust
My hair like snow?
In the dark of night, a dream: suddenly, I am home
You by the window
Doing your hair
I look at you and can not speak
Your face is streaked by endless tears
Year after year must they break my heart
These moonlit nights?
That low pine grave?
(A translation from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Su_Shi)

【全詞串講】

生離死別已十年，人間冥府兩茫茫。
雖不刻意思念，也絕不會相忘。
你的孤墳遠隔千里，沒有地方傾訴心中淒涼。
即使我們再相逢，怕你不識我模樣：
我已滿面塵埃，兩鬢斑白如霜。
夜來隱約睡夢中，忽然回到了故鄉。
你對著小軒窗，正在打扮梳妝。
我們相對默默無言，唯有臉上流過熱淚千行。
料想你年年月月，肝腸寸斷的地方：
月明朗的夜裡，小松樹的山岡。

Inspirational Story For New American

excerpt from the article, HOW FAR WE HAVE COME (FINDING FREEDOM AND GOOD FORTUNE IN AN ADOPTED LAND, WRITTEN BY RICHARD SEVEN) in The Settle Times Magazine on July 4, 2004

With his father, Jimmy, left, Gov. Gary Locke poses with children Dylan and Emily outside the governor's mansion in Olympia.

GARY LOCKE
From Chinese village to governor's mansion
Gov. Gary Locke made history by becoming the country's first Chinese-American to hold the position. Today, as he has done each Fourth of July for a decade, he will address the annual naturalization ceremony at Seattle Center. It means a lot to him, he says, as does an old framed photo of a house he displays in his office:

"This house is actually the house that my grandfather worked in as a servant boy shortly after he came over in the late 1800s as a teenager. It is literally one mile from here. I joked at my inauguration that it took my family 100 years to go one mile.

A large contingent of the Locke family came from the same rural village in China and settled in Olympia. After the racial tension here, some, including my grandfather, moved to Seattle. As with Chinese custom, he'd send money he earned back home, and made a few trips back and forth. He got married there and started a family, and eventually he brought them over.


COURTESY OF GARY LOCKE
Jimmy Locke, center, joined the Army after attending Garfield High School. He took part in the invasion of Normandy during World War II.
My dad was born in China and came over as a teenager. He went to Garfield High School and joined the Army. He was part of the Normandy invasion during World War II. After the war, he went to Hong Kong, married and brought my mom here. We lived in Yesler Terrace housing project for a while. We eventually bought a house on Beacon Hill, in a very multicultural community.
We grew up speaking Chinese at home, and I didn't learn English until about kindergarten, which was right at the time my mom was learning English to become a U.S. citizen.
We grew up with a lot of Chinese customs, an emphasis on learning and staying home and helping out. I'd see TV shows like 'Father Knows Best,' 'Ozzie and Harriet,' 'The Donna Reed Show,' and I'd wonder, how come Mrs. Cleaver wears a dress, high heels and pearl necklace while she is vacuuming the floor? How come my mom doesn't do that? Mr. Cleaver wears a coat and tie at the dinner table. How come my father doesn't do that? Are we not American?
My older siblings and I couldn't go to dances; you can't go out or go to friends' houses. There was a lot of tension between what my parents expected and were used to versus what I saw Caucasian and other classmates doing.
Mona (his wife) and I are Americans through and through, but we think it is important that people of all backgrounds and ethnic groups try to instill in their kids their culture and ethnicity. A blending of both worlds.
During my first year in office, I went on a trade mission to China and was able to visit the village where my grandfather and father were born. The whole village welcomed us. Inside the ancestral home on a wall were pictures of the entire Locke clan for the last 100 years. It was like stepping back in the 1800s. No indoor plumbing. It was so emotional for me.
It made me realize how fortunate we are to live in the U.S. and that my success was really part of the dreams and aspirations of the entire village. America has always been the beacon around the world of freedom, hope and opportunity, and families would sacrifice, scrimp and save and hope that someone in their family could make that trip.
That picture on the wall is a reminder of how far we've come."

Chime of Friendship

Chime of Friendship
Parting is inevitable in life.
But never for us,
Who are in each others' arms,
And souls in one.

You are the friend,
The best and the greatest,
Take it for granted,
That we'll miss you the most.

The tide of times
Can not wash away
Your name, Marigold
From the sea of our memories.

You filled our hearts with warmth and joy.
The moments and places,
That we shared together,
Will tell us the best years of our lives.

Never say goodbye,
We'll meet you again,
Somehow, Somewhere, Sometimes,
To make our days again.

Hundred of birds in the air,
Millions of leaves on the pavements,
And chime of friendship's ringing on,
In our hearts forever more.

BaKoGi

ThinGyan Moe (ThinGyan Rain)

ThinGyan Moe

One of my favorite Burmese movies and the best Thingyan movie.


Thingyan Moe Yay Ta Kuu Lay


ThinGyan Moe

Happy ThinGyan and Happy Burmese New Year!

When We Two Parted By Lord Byron

When we two parted
In silence and tears,
Half broken-hearted
To sever for years,
Pale grew thy cheek and cold,
Colder thy kiss;
Truly that hour foretold
Sorrow to this.

The dew of the morning
Sunk chill on my brow--
It felt like the warning
Of what I feel now.
Thy vows are all broken,
And light is thy fame;
I hear thy name spoken,
And share in its shame.

They name thee before me,
A knell to mine ear;
A shudder comes o'er me--
Why wert thou so dear?
They know not I knew thee,
Who knew thee too well--
Long, long shall I rue thee,
Too deeply to tell.

In secret we met--
In silence I grieve,
That thy heart could forget,
Thy spirit deceive.
If I should meet thee
After long years,
How should I greet thee?--
With silence and tears.

George Gordon Byron

22 January 1788– 19 April 1824

Lord Byron passed away 185 years ago. This great poem still moves a lot of poem lovers.

A Poem To My Uncle, Peter

NOTHING’S BAD

Nothing’s bad about getting old,
As long as having little woes.
Face every plight with grace.
Stride it with a steady pace.

Nothing’s bad about blurry vision,
As long as one can see.
Feel with beating heart.
Love and care the other half.

Nothing’s bad about feeling sick,
As long as getting better in a week.
Shake that bitter medicine well.
Drink it with a ginger smile.

Nothing’s bad about celebrating birthdays,
As long as forgetting your real age.
Welcome every new day.
Forget yesterday lows.

So, stop fretting about getting old.
Forgive all your foes.
Happiness and peace in return will give you glow.
Good health is in the row.

BaKoGi

April 10, 2009

Happy Birthday to you, Sui Sui.

龙船调 (The Dragon Boat Song)-民歌 (Chinese Folk Song)

龙船调(The Dragon Boat Song)

龙船调(The Dragon Boat Song)by-宋祖英 (Song Zuying)