Lighthouse Climb1 min read

Illustration by Arty Guava

On the lighthouse’s narrow stairs,
my mother’s hand in mine,
my children steadying her back,
three generations pressed together
in one fragile climb.

Her knees ached, the steps too steep,
yet Ari bent low, his back pressed to her hips,
lifting her with each step,
as if to shoulder time itself.

I wanted to pause there
in the salt air,
in the narrow shaft of light,
breathe in the wind,
hold this moment in my chest,
knowing the stairs will rise before us
and we will ebb
into separate tides of time,
forever just beyond reach.

Hana Kim, a first-generation Korean Canadian, serves as Director of the East Asian Library at the University of Toronto and was previously Head Librarian of the Asian Library at UBC. Kim is the editor of Asian Canadian Voices: Facets of Diversity and has published work on Asian Canadian heritage and librarianship. She received the 2018 Korean Canadian Heritage Award. Kim also received the 2008 Harvard University Korean Institute Sunshik Min Prize and the Korea Times’ 41st Modern Korean Literature Translation Award, both for translating Cheonhak Kwon’s poems. She contributed original poetry and translations to various publications, including the Ricepaper Magazine.

Lay Hoon, also known as Arty Guava, is an Illustrator and Graphic Designer based in Vancouver. She grew up in Malaysia and spent most of her adult life in Singapore before moving to Canada. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Bioengineering but chose to make a career switch after about 1 year of working there. Art and Design have always been her calling. She is passionate about culture, people and nature and how these themes interact.