A Rhyming Summary

I wrote this today during my day trip to Cheng Chau, one of the neighboring islands of Hong Kong.  I started it on the MTR (the metro) and finished it over dinner at a sushi restaurant (which I have now been to 3 times in the course of 3 days--Today I was greeted with "Welcome Back."  Should I be embarrassed?  Nah.).  The poem references a lot of inside jokes that I can explain later...

It's called "The Space Between", written in honor of The Scholar Ship September 2007 Inaugural Voyage

The space between the end and the start

A blink of a space, not far apart.

Would you believe that four months have gone by

Of excitement, delight, and moments of "Why!?"

Of hopes, of fears, of courage, of doubt

Pioneers we were, mapping our route.

A vision before us of all that could be

Traversing the globe, while crossing the sea.

A collection of cultures all brought together

Weren't we once strangers back in September?

We started from scratch, our own creation

How do we satisfy 50 'a nation?

Let's take a look back while we're still sane

A very short trip down memory lane.

What do we call our communities

How about "star" in Japanese

And Spanish and Farsi and German, there's more

Our guiding symbol from ocean to shore.

And what are the rules that govern our seas

A four drink max, and "no fires" please.

Hard to enforce; Our battles we'd choose

Stay flex-i-ble, and don't forget shoes!

A myriad of talents from beat box to prose

Language teachers; traditional clothes.

From auction items that kept us awake

From dance lessons and hips that could shake.

From student voices that drove us to change

Lessons on hunger; Look at this range!

Skits and plays on the 24th hour

Privilege, prejudice; Let's talk about power.

Face to face, no cell phones to call

We'll make our own masks to wear at the ball.

Our lunches and dinners together we eat

Our vegans need options, no dairy or meat.

RC debriefs, a circle of backjacks

The equator crossing, which made us all Shellbacks.

From Facebook to Zimbra, we carry our Macs

Checking the Portal; Please no medivacs!

Upon each port, immigration we'd greet

"Crikey", says Kim; Take your Ship-to-Shore Sheet!

Off we'd head in every direction

And the country we'd cover, each taking a section.

From Arts to Business, so much we would see

Shore Ex, Indy, or on AFP's.

And no matter how far we would steer off track

Those bright string of lights would guide us right back.

Our ship, our home; We came to rely

With each Noon report and part-cloudy sky.

And before we knew it, China was here

What once felt so far, now was so near.

It began as it ended, time taking its toll

Once strangers now friends surround a Peace Pole.

The chapter is closing, and tears start to fall

From barriers and boundaries, to crumbling walls.

As we say our good-byes it's hard to believe

The depth of our bonds and the love that's been weaved. 

And though we'll no longer share the same space

We carry our memories, leaving a trace.

Our third culture created, no one left the same

New kids on the planet, "The Bridge" is our name.

It's been quite a journey, one heck of a ride

But as we walk off the gangway, you'll notice our pride.

And years from now we'll look back and we'll gloat

'Cause we were the first on that Scholar Boat.

Through sweat and tears, laughter and fun

Look what has happened; Look what we've done!

The space between, together we stand

I'll give you the courage, if you'll give me your hand.

With our heels in the present, the teacher our past

We look to the future; We know it comes fast.

And for those who've moved on, your spirit remains

While welcoming others who just joined the game.

Our purpose awaits us; That much is clear

It's why we signed up, why we're all here.

We've always been ready; We know what to do

My friends, we can do this; Let's head for "Round 2!"