Last night was the earliest I had fallen asleep in a long time. It’s almost as if I couldn’t wait to be one year older.
What a year it had been. To say 2022 was the best year of my life is an understatement: I discovered so much more about what’s worthwhile to pursue in this life –– I pushed my limit and realized just how generous this world can be.
Sometimes, when I look back on past phases of my life, the contrast can be so striking like lining up the tips of the two neighboring architectures of The Shard and Southwark Church and witnessing their thousand-year difference.
Yet at other times, I feel so humbled by the coexistence of constancy and possibility this world holds. On Saturday, I rode the bus down a familiar yet unrecognizable route. My not-so-little hometown Wuhan had changed so much during the long years I had been away. I thought returning to this place, I’d feel stifled, like somehow the city is too small for me now, that somehow I’ve outwitted the cradle that held me after all the books I’ve read and miles I’ve trekked and homes I’ve made. Never. Our reunion only brought me an awareness that the intelligence, dedication, and worldliness of young people will never cease to impress me. There will always be people giving their best to make this world a better place, no matter how much the work demands.
This is a poem from my bus ride inspired by two boys sharing snacks next to me.
Tinctures, Wuhan
A boy is wearing
a watch with a touchscreen.
His friend, in a red shirt, is holding a bag of snacks
from the bulk section.
They are looking around
and at each other.
They are laughing with mouths full,
studying the colorful wrappers.
On the big plastic bag,
barcode stickers
attach themselves
horizontally and vertically.
When I used to be
just a happy friend on the bus,
I never questioned
how big the world was
or the possibility
to outgrow a place.
A dragonfly hovers over a lake.
It finally lands; the water, holding
its weight, ripples away.
This is how gently the world moves me.
The boy with snacks gets off first.
With a low hum, the bus restarts,
and the other boy turns his head
to the window.
Here’s to another year of endless learning and growth! ❤️
Hugs,
Erica
Beautiful! Plus I am touched of what you have made of the Shard and Southwark Cathedral contrast - you are so clever with your thinking and writing.