Our Dreams

waking from the song
Mother hummed years ago
autumn dawn

I remember the night before I emigrated to Canada. My mother was helping me to pack my luggage, and she began to tell me about the dream she had the night before.

My mother stood holding me in her arms helplessly, unable to see anything ahead of her, for she was enveloped by darkness. With the passage of time, a pain rose from her feet and gradually up to her shoulders and arms. At the moment when she reached the point of almost despair, suddenly, a spot of bright space appeared by her side. She used her last ounce of strength to put me down while I remained sound asleep. As soon as I was laid on the ground, the earth unexpectedly began to tilt. My place of rest was now a slope. While careening down, I suddenly grew up, and within few minutes was no larger than a speck of dust.

nine autumns past...
between mother and me
the Pacific

Chen-ou Liu was born in Taiwan and emigrated to Canada in 2002. He lives in a suburb of Toronto. He is a contributing writer for Rust+Moth. His poetry has been published and anthologized worldwide. And his tanka and haiku have been honored with ten awards.