Poem by Shirley Sue-A-Quan （曹小莉）

Translated by Shirley and Trev Sue-A-Quan （曹小莉苏阿冠合译）

Look at the silver flashes on your surface，

The reflection of an old man fishing in the river

Wild geese perched on the shore,

Crickets singing in the grass.

Huge logs float in the water,

 waiting to be transported far and wide.

Purple roses and blackberries add beauty to each other,

Squirrels jump to yield way to passing dogs.

When did these tall cranes appear in the air?

Real estate investments have come to this best kept  secret area

Huge advertisements claim proudly and loudly,

that this is the last river front treasure of Vancouver.

Elegantly dressed men and ladies,

Eloquent real estate agents,

Pushing the price like waves higher and higher

700 square feet condos for only 800,000 dollars,

The color of money glitters more brightly than all of Nature’s beauty

People are signing and talking,

Vancouver is no longer the one we remember

Gold diggers, house flippers, shadow dealers

Luxurious mansions sprout like mushrooms after rain.

It is the current fashion of a new business.

How can we tell our descendants? 

 Here by the water there were hundreds of geese, birds, sea gulls,

Branches and bushes full of berries

And a big river shining with silver flashes .

Houses were for people to reside ,

Ordinary folks could afford to live in this city,

Parents, grandparents and kids could live nearby

Will this once beautiful reality become a distant dream that cannot be reached ?

August 25, 2018  Vancouver