I, young son of the Wong clan from Hèung Sèhng,
straightened up, tossed my writing brush,
to quest for America’s capitol.
I bought an oar, came to the place of Gold Mountain.
Who knew I would be sent to this island?
If my country were strong, it would not be like this.
When the ship docked, up a gangway straight to shore.

Written at dawn, 24th day in the 13th Year of the Republic,
the idle pen of a lazy boy from the City of Iron.

逍  民     船  我  誰  買  挺  黃
逵  國     泊  國  知  槕  身  家
子  十     岸  圖  撥  到  投  子
鐵  三     邊  强  我  了  筆  弟
城  廿     直  無  過  金  赴  本
閒  肆     可  此  埃  山  美  香
筆  晨     登  樣  菕  地  京  珹
。   ，     。  ，  。  ，  。  ，

_____________________________________________________________________

I, A SEVEN-FOOT GENTLEMAN, AM ASHAMED I CANNOT STRETCH OUT

I, a seven-foot gentleman, am ashamed I cannot stretch out.
Corralled and concealed, curled in the center (like a worm),
I bow and scrape to others.
One hundred ways to suffer humiliation, I cry defeat in vain.
This man fell to tears,
but what can the dark blue heavens do?

斯  百  蜷  鬚
人  般  伏  眉
瀝  忍  圈  七
哭  辱  中  尺
蒼  徒  俯  愧
天  呼  仰  無
何  負  人  伸
？   ，  。  ，

_____________________________________________________________________

DETAINED IN THE WOOD HOUSE SEVERAL WEEKS

Detained in the wood house several weeks,
It’s because of Mexico’s exclusion law which implicates me.
It’s a pity heroes don’t use weapons.
I await word to snap Zu’s whip.

From here on, I’ll travel far from this two-story building.
Each and every villager will share a happiness.
Don’t idolize everything that’s Western-style.
Even if cut from jade, these walls are
nothing but a cage.

設  菒  各  從  只  可  所  木
成  道  位  今  聽  惜  囚  屋
玉  其  鄉  遠  音  英  墨  拘
砌  閒  君  別  來  雄  例  留
變  皆  眾  此  策  無  致  幾
如  西  歡  樓  祖  用  牽  十
籠  式  同  中  鞭  武  連  天
。   ，  。  ，  。  ，  。  ，

_____________________________________________________________________

THE WEST WIND DRIFTS THROUGH MY THIN GAUZE SHIRT

The west wind drifts through my thin gauze shirt.
Against the hills, a tall building with plank-walled rooms.
I, wishing for my wife and son like clouds far away,
My night is even longer under the bright moon.

With wine at the head of the bed, my spirit always drunk,
Under a pillow, no flowered dreams or sweet.
One piece of quiet lives only in the heart.
I lean on others to lessen my bitter cool.

全  一  枕  床  月  意  山  西
憑  幅  底  頭  明  好  坐  風
知  幽  無  有  偏  子  高  吹
己  情  花  酒  受  娘  樓  動
解  何  夢  心  夜  雲  板  薄
凄  心  不  常  更  欲  木  羅
涼  寄  香  醉  長  遠  房  裳
。   ，  。  ，  。  ，  。  ，

_____________________________________________________________________

RANDOM THOUGHTS, MY WORRY RETURNED WHICH BECAME THIS POEM

Random thoughts, my worry returned which became this poem.
Because my family poor, I left for the Land of the Flower Flag.
I’d only thought in coming here, I’d land easily,
Who knew the barbarians would change their rules and regulations?
Ear pricks, blood tests, and exams of feces,
A trace of hookworm triggers the transfer protocol.
They took more than ten foreign dollars,
Trapped in this hospital ward, I’m bitter and sad.
I don’t know when I’ll be healed,
Hoping for discharge, my body strives for that day.
One wing found clear of disease, no longer requiring treatment.
You must avoid insults from the bullying ghosts.
Fellow villagers, be watchful and remember to take care:
I write my insane speech to let those who’ll come after know.

寫  梓  免  一  若  未  困  取  影  刺  誰  只  因  想
我  里  至  排  得  知  在  得  有  耳  知  望  為  起
狂  一  凌  走  脫  何  醫  洋  勾  驗  番  來  家  愁
言  看  辱  清  身  日  房  蚨  蟲  血  奴  到  窮  來
留  宜  受  唔  奮  得  苦  數  須  兼  轉  登  走  題
後  謹  鬼  向  志  痊  愁  十  調  驗  例  岸  花  首
知  記  欺  倚  日  癒  悲  餘  治  屎  規  易  旗  詩
。  ；   。  ，  ，  。  。 ；   。 ；  ？  ；   。  。

---

A note from the translator:

These are new translations of the Chinese wall poems written by young immigrants detained at the Angel Island Immigration Station near San Francisco between 1910 and 1940. Anti-Chinese laws severely restricted immigration from China. While immigrants bought papers to prove U.S. citizenship, government officials attempted to exclude false claims through detailed interrogations that sometimes took years to resolve. Conditions were harsh: crowded dormitories and isolation from family. Detainees took to writing T’ang style poetry to express their feelings of melancholy, loneliness and frustration. Poems were at first ink-brushed onto the men’s barracks’ walls, and when painted over, the detainees carved their words into the wood. The work touches upon leaving home, incarceration, interrogations and medical exams, approval or deportation, consolation, and political outrage. While written by multiple authors, almost all the poems were left unsigned for fear of retribution. This work survives as a powerful literary testament to the Chinese immigrant’s journey.

—Jeffrey Thomas Leong, a MFA graduate of Vermont College of Fine Arts, selected, translated and edited about 70 poems from the Chinese wall poems at Angel Island. The poems, written anonymously by multiple authors, carry a tone of sorrow and outrage over unjust detention by immigration authorities. They are a part of his unpublished manuscript, Wild Geese Sorrow.