客家 hak-kâ, lit. guest families



with ocean to the left and mountains to the right

the families travelled south
discussions often turned

to the building of permanent homes

when they eventually found somewhere to settle
but for now every night they rested

nestled together like aromatics in stock

as they closed their eyes they listened

to the elder telling stories of their future
                                               one day our people will arrive

                                               on lands far away from here

                                               new lands where rice will not grow

                                               where people speak without tones

                                               a place of many ingredients

                                               where we will invent a new cuisine

                                               which everyone will love

                                               but nobody will own
the further the families travelled

the more elaborate the stories became
sometimes they spoke of impossible things

like machines filled with boiling oil

or plastic boxes that heated up whatever was inside them
one night one of the younger men finally asked
                                               but elder—how will the future generations

                                               remember us
and the elder had no choice but to reply truthfully
***
that night

a single star above this family

grew just a little brighter
and generations into the future

                                               here we are

                                               all of us briefly illuminated