Kathryn 君妍 Lennon

I’ve been working away on a project, with funding from the Edmonton Arts Council, to translate a series of my poems into Chinese,  collaborating with my mom as my translator. I’ve also been working to create prints to accompany them. Here is a sneak peek.

Three-inch Golden Lotus
by Kathryn 君妍 Gwun-Yeen Lennon

“They say unbinding feet was as painful as binding them”. (Amanda Foreman, Why Footbinding Persisted in China for a Millennium, Smithsonian Magazine, February 2015).

The crack of toe bones breaking
for the sake of beauty
the crack of toe bones breaking
to create feet like lotuses
like feet were never meant to be
this never happened to me.

Our grandmother’s feet
were never bound.
They never broke
her bones
never told her that her feet
were lotuses.

Her feet were tough.
They carried her as she walked through war
to sell wares, to bring money
home to her family.

When she was married, her city feet
became island feet
barefeet carrying water from well to field
on her husband’s farm.
Her feet became vegetable selling, child carrying feet.
Her feet were never broken, they were never bound
but she was bound
to a time when a woman did not choose whom to love,
she was bound
to a society where women are worth less.
She did not break these rules.
Our mother’s feet
were never bound.
They never broke
her bones
never told her that her feet
were lotuses.

Her feet were vegetable selling, basketball playing, sandy
beach feet, sneaking out to go dancing at night feet.
Bound to carry her away feet,
away from a society where women do not break the rules.

Her feet carried her onto a plane, across an ocean, across mountains,
becoming university student feet, winter boot feet.
Her feet were never broken, they were never bound,
but she was bound
to break the rules.
It became a balancing feat,
a learning to stand strong feet,
straddling the world she’d left behind, and the life she’d chosen here.
Her feet became standing at the front of a classroom feet, learning
to ice skate feet, buying Chinatown groceries feet.
They knew no bounds.
But she was bound to a time when not all women had all choices,
bound to a society were she was less than white.

My feet
were never bound.
They never broke
my bones
never told me that my feet were lotuses.

My giant feet.
I wished I could have broken
the toes off my too big feet
when I was a kid.
I couldn’t stand the feet
that made me stand out
stand up
stand taller than everyone else.

My feet
kick run climb curl,
never into lotuses.

But I am still bound
by the double binds
that tell us we’re not shaped the right way
that make us accept less than equal pay
that make me bound to say
to you, sister:

Never let those bindings break our spirits,
never let them break our power.

Our feet were never broken, they were never bound,
they are happiest when toes are free feet,
they are strong stand out, stand up, stand tall feet
They are choose-your-own-adventure feet, and they will never let us fall.

三寸金莲（解脱的足）
Translated by Wai-Ling Lennon 姚慧玲

趾骨曾经被弄得裂开
为的是
美丽好看
趾骨被弄得裂开
来创造那像莲花般的小足
不是用来走或跳的小足
没有，这事情没有发生再我身上。

外婆/外祖母 的足
没有被缠绑过
他们没有弄裂过她的趾骨
没有告诉过她，她的足像莲花
她的足是很受到苦的
它们承载她在战乱时到处奔走
去贩卖东西，去赚钱回家
养活家人。

当她出嫁那天起，她在城市长大的足
就变成了小岛妇女的足
光着双足从水井挑水到菜田间
那是她夫君的农田
她的足成为了贩卖蔬菜，背娃娃的足
她的足没有被弄裂过，他们并没有弄裂过她的趾骨
但是她是受约束的
那时的社会女性是卑微的
她没有破坏这些规矩。

我们母亲的足
没有被缠绑过
他们没有弄裂过她的趾骨
没有告诉过她，她的足像莲花
她的足是贩卖蔬菜，打篮球，到沙滩，偷偷去跳舞会的足
带领她离开家园的足
离开一个妇女不能打破古老封建规矩的社会。

她的足承载她登上飞机，度过大海洋，越过高山
成为一个大学生的足，穿雪靴的足
她的趾骨没有被弄裂过，他们没有弄裂过她的足
但是她被驱使
被驱使破坏了规矩。

那成为了一种特别平衡的技俩
学习勇敢地站立
周旋于她离开了的家乡和她选择这儿的生活
她的足成为了站在课堂前，学习滑冰，到中国城
（唐人街）买菜的足
它们不知道什么是界限
但是她被女性在有限选择的时代约束着
被一个不是白人社会环境下的约束着。

我的足
从来没有被缠绑过
他们从来没有把我的趾骨弄裂
没有告诉过我，我的足像莲花。

我的大足
我曾希望我可以弄断我的脚趾
我不愿意用我的大足站立
因为它令我在人群中突出
站立
站立在令我高于他们的群组里
这是小时候的我。

我的足
踢、跑、爬、卷
但都不像莲花
但是我是被约束的。
被外婆/外祖母遵守规矩而约束
我是被约束的
被母亲遵守规矩而约束
我也是被约束的
我受到双重的约束
我们长得跟别人不一样
我们接受不同的待遇
驱使我要对大家说
姐妹们：

千万不要让那些束缚令你丧志
千万不要让他们毁灭你的力量

我们的足，没有被弄裂过，没有受约束过
当脚趾没有被束缚它们是最快乐的足
它们是坚强地突出，站立，站得堂堂正正的足
它们是让你选择自己前途的足，它们是永不会令我们失败跌倒的足。