Illustration by Anderson Lee
briskets of Chinese cows bathe in Slavic red
cabbage invasion, beet defeat
the absence of home, diaspora resolves with tomatoes
unlike people, 紅湯 cannot flee
its vegetables root in a riverbed of taste buds
I spoon refugee history from a sour bowl
but cannot stomach the potential
of becoming one.
Louise Leung Fung Yee is a locally-born and bred Hong Kong writer who grew up in an upper-grassroot family. They have been published by Canto Cutie, Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, and Voice and Verse Magazine. They have been featured in poetry readings organized by Cha, What We Read Now, and the Poetics of Home Festival. Louise’s writing usually features bilingualism and code-switching. The theme of their work circles the local cultural-politics, Hong Kong’s postcoloniality, and their complex family history.