I have two countries.

Born and raised in one,

pursuing dreams and studies in the other.

This is where East meets West.

The country that bore me

punctuates the seasons of my youth by

beats in bustling streets.

Spring – pears and peach blossoms budded by the roadside.

Summer – spent at the arcade catching dolls.

Autumn – the aroma of osmanthus shrouded my journey home.

Winter – snow feels like foam with the night skies

blocked as if by fairies, leaving a mysterious moonlight.

And then a new life overseas,

looking for treasure in an ocean - a helpless child.

Strange faces look at me through the sun of the West.

I can see lonely days ahead,

constantly drinking coffee

in a country that houses me, teaching and embracing.

Spring – I see stars and stripes hanging high in the sky.

Summer – sleeping under trees, eagle wings in the light.

Autumn – celebrating harvest fest in an autumn wind.

Winter – snowball fights and building snowmen, pure white and blinding.

This is where East meets West.

When I walk through “街道”

chilly winds tickle my cheeks,

and in my mind I have two “声音”,

each different in tone and speed.

I dreamed once that

we might all live in the same land,

borderless and boundless.

Despite “拥有” different languages,

we might communicate fluently.

As I walk from my birth country into this new land,

I see the threads of this dream,

breathing in both countries.

You see, I’ve swallowed them.



Born and raised in one,

Pursuing dreams and studies in the

other, so now, I talk in two voices.