Paul Yee fonds, City of Vancouver Archives
For the “man in the fedora”
for all the “bachelors”
and the families that never were.
No memories nearby
I never knew his name
Nor the people he had to forget
Bade farewell to father, mother, wife?
I never knew his name
Nor the C.I. numbers
and burden he was forced to carry
Calling bingo numbers
……>>>>>…5 – Man alive
………>>>>>9 – Doctor’s orders
………>>>>28 – In a state
………>>>>36 – Three dozen
………>>>>45 – Halfway there
YEAR 101 came too late for the last “bachelor”
Defeated, by time and more
Lose face
Dreams of gam saan haak 1
became ah baak 2 instead
Crumpled pieces of C.I. certificates
Matching crumpled dignities
crumpled dreams
Reduced to bingo numbers
No one to tell his story
No one to visit his gravesite
No one to picnic with him come tomb sweeping days
solitary
in a suit and fedora
perched at Chinatown street corners
smoking a cigarette
Head bowed, no gaze
Shadow confined to the brick wall
etched
Never left
muk uk pig pens
Fenced in
Guilt. Guilty of what
Never left
Desolation
Caged on that island, stayed
I never knew his name
For the man in the fedora.
1 gam saan haak 金山客 Guest from “Gold Mountain” returning to the village with riches
2 ah baak 阿伯 Older uncle, old-timer
馬鳳齡 Fung Ling Feimo is an arts and culture advocate in the Calgary community. She is an engaged community member of Calgary Chinatown and advised on the Cultural Plan and Area Redevelopment Plan. Recent projects include establishing a community collection at The City of Calgary Archives to preserve Chinese Canadian heritage assets and research consulting for Heritage Park.