On August 10, 2007 my sister’s (Lai Webster) grandchildren, Lauren and Marc Lieu, both age 14, came to my house for dinner along with my other sister, Nell, an established poet who is published in many books and anthologies.  After dinner, we were hoping to play Scrabble or another game.  But before we played we decided to write a collaborative poem.  Lai, having finished her mah jong game with friends, arrived as we were writing and joined in the collaboration.  Later, I contributed a few lines.  Lauren titled our poem.

Through the Eyes of a
Woman Worker
Nellie Wong, Lauren Lieu, Marc Lieu, Lai Webster,
Flo Oy Wong

I am the wind.  A monkey sticks to my back.
I am the ocean.  Crashing and thrashing like a
monster at sea.
I am the snowflake, who shares the same aspects as my fellow peers,
Sunlight pierces, an arrow to my spine
My bare feet scream with pain on the sun baked clay
Sheer terror pierces my small delicate lungs
Ma feels the skin, the lungs, our ears
exploding red stars
I am the spirit that is free and floating
I am defying gravity
Flying away from fear and loneliness
Women workers change bed sheets, their backs aching
Today is a beautiful and tranquil day
What will the world thrust at us tomorrow?
I am the outcast to society treated as a nuisance
A nuisance!  What is a nuisance?
A nuisance is not being paid for a day of changing
bed sheets
A nuisance can be frustrating
What I consider a nuisance is the heat beating down
on my body
It’s just plain appalling, leaving you speechless
Speechless but I still have thoughts – loud, quiet, noisy – filling my heart
My heart beats, skips rope, soars as a centipede kite
My heart goes pitty pat when I am excited
It beats in my ear, loud and clear, like a drum
inside my body
My muscles screaming with anxiety
Anxiety!  What is anxiety?
Change anxiety.  Pay the women workers union wages!

A joyous occasion with Lauren & Marc visiting
A collaborative poem thrown together like a salad
Three cheers for Marc & Lauren
Hip Hip Hooray
Hip Hip Hooray
Hip Hip Hooray