National Adult Literacy Database

April 13, 1998

This week, we have a poem written by Liping Mei, from Montreal, Quebec. Liping has recently been taking English classes at the High School of Montreal, to improve her English language skills.

Freedom

by Liping Mei

If I am a little bird,
I hope there is no hunter in the world,
I hope to fly in the blue sky freely.
If I am a fish, I hope there is no fisherman in the world,
I hope I can swim in the rivers, lakes, and oceans freely.
Now I am a human, I hope:
there is no war anymore in the world, there are
no children who have lost their parents
in the war, Every family can sit
around the table for dinner every night.
Stop the stupid fighting!
Stop the stupid war!
Give me freedom to enjoy the life of a human.
Now I am a human, Give me a chance
to speak what I want to say. In my life, I saw a lot of justice,
I hope to eulogize it freely, In my life, I met a deal of unfair
things, I hope to have human rights to criticize them freely.
I strongly desire that There is complete
freedom for everybody in the world.

[This poem was taken with permission, from a collection of writings by students at the High School of Montreal, entitled Something on my Mind.]