A visual representation of "Homecoming" by David Mckirdy
LO Ka Mei
Yan Chai Hospital Wong Wha San Secondary School
The idea of the painting comes from the poem ‘Homecoming’, which shows a conversation between a foreign-looking middle-aged man and a Chinese boy on the plane. A line joining the things related to Hong Kong they discussed spirals around them in my artwork.
The Scottish man, although portrayed as a blond foreigner in a suit, has his heart set in Hong Kong. Though he has his roots in Scotland, he regards Hong Kong as his true home. To illustrate his love for Hong Kong, some famous local delicacies and iconic buildings in the city are included in the painting.
Furthermore, the colour scheme of the painting is bright and warm which accentuates the playful and humorous image of the man and his yearning for returning to Hong Kong. The enjoyable moments that the foreigner and the local boy spent together on the flight also reflect the congeniality and harmony between the two cultures.
Homecoming
Flying home from the land of my birth
rituals performed, eulogy delivered
orphaned and pensive.
A little Chinese boy sleeps
with his head on my knee
trusting and innocent
I slide my pillow under him
and spread a blanket
as his mother snores beside him.
Later we chat
“Uncle, are you a foreigner?”
“Yes, born in Scotland.”
“Why can you speak Cantonese?”
“I am a Hong Kong man now.”
“How old are you?”
“55, and you?”
“I am 5 years old.”
Just a year older than me
when I left
traveling towards a new life.
50 years absence has made me
a venerable uncle
with an inscrutable Western smile
heading back to my Chinese home.
David McKirdy
“Homecoming” was published in Eight Hong Kong Poetsby David McKirdy and Peter Gordon, p.119. Copyrights© 2015 by Chameleon Press. Reprinted by permission of Chameleon Press.