A visual representation of "Contrast" by Tammy Ho
HO Cheuk Ying
Sha Tin Government Secondary School
This painting is derived from a poem about the tender moments between the poet and the father. The father has changed his attitude towards ageing. He gradually accepts the growing number of grey hair and enjoys the interaction he has with his grandchildren.
For example, in the painting, I drew the sunset at the bottom right and the father’s rough hand in the centre. I want to emphasise that the father’s love is warm and beautiful. However, it cannot be permanent and we must cherish it.
Money or age will not break a father and his child apart. The poet does not despise her father because he is growing old. I hope that this painting will make people feel the preciousness of fatherly and family love. I created this artwork on the computer as it can produce different types of lines and the contrast of light and dark precisely, making it easier for viewers to understand the details and focus of the painting.
Contrast
He asked me to put the hairs
in a small yellow box. It was plastic,
with a catch at the front that clicked
when closed.
Every Sunday, I looked carefully
at my father’s head
and plucked out the grey hairs
that hid sneakily
among the robust black ones.
He gave me twenty cents for each strand
until one day, a few years later,
the box was full
and there were still so many more to pluck.
Overcome with sadness, I said,
‘Father, I don’t want the money.’
He then began dyeing his hair
and in the bathroom sink every week
drips of black water
revealed that father was clawing
back his youth.
Fifteen years later, he
has stopped dyeing his hair,
worried that the chemicals
might harm his grandchildren
whom he often rests
on his shoulders,
proud now
to highlight the contrast.
Tammy Ho
“Contrast” first appeared in the Asia Literary Review: https://www.asialiteraryreview.com/contrast. Reprinted with permission by the poet.