Who am I, you ask and patiently wait
For me to explain my life and my fate
Well, for you, dear child, I'll tell you a tale
You'll forever recall every day without fail
With this story and all of the words that I choose
You'll learn a language you never will lose
You'll find out about all my joys and my pain
And my verse will echo in your mind once again
I come from a country where the flowers smell sweet
Where farmers give people fine crops they can eat
Where the sky is blue, the lakes pure and clear
The children play games with nothing to fear
The neighbors they hail you, "How are you today?"
"Are you happy, contented? Are you planning to stay?"
For this is a land where the people are free
The smiles on their faces is a joy to see
But it isn't so easy to find this place in the sun
For this is where everyone is trying to come
You aren't alone, and what you have you must share
Your time and your money plus all you can spare
I've been through hardships, I have had pain
I have felt great anguish over and over again
Have I suffered a lot? Have I shed real tears?
Yes, but I haven't felt sorrow as much as my peers
When I was a child just like you, my young man
We were poor, with no home, we lived in a clan
We couldn't do what we liked, free thought they forbade
We were always worried and always afraid
We had to build courage and decide we should flee
To a place where we'd feel in peace and harmony
So we traveled for weeks with no firm land in sight
Till we reached our journey's end far into the night
My parents there settled, worked hard all their life
I was sent to school, and later they found me a wife
They wanted for me, what they hadn't achieved
The learning and skills they hadn't received
So I studied at high school and made some good friends
But that is not where this long story ends
I learned a profession, then found work I could do
Became a carpenter's aid, I would saw, polish and glue
So I earned my living and could make ends meet
We had food on the table and our neighbors we'd greet
My wife she was pleased and our kids got along
I saw how they grew, became tall and so strong
They studied Chinese, higher physics, and French
Their thirst for knowledge they never could quench
They played the piano and their parents did please
They went onto college, got prestigious degrees
I'm talking to you, I'm telling you this
I expect you to listen—not a single word miss
I want you to be quiet—and nothing demand
I'd like you to focus and my thoughts understand
If you learn by heart just half of these lines
Respecting word order, stress and all of the rhymes
You'll speak good English and wherever you go
You'll be welcomed by people—acts of friendship they'll show
So isn't this poem worth trying to learn?
Reciting complex lexis is not our concern
I don't ask you to know the names of all birds
I just want you to speak well and use the right words
Won't you make an attempt? Yes, just do your best
No one will mock you; we won't give you a test
The effort you make, you will never regret
And my story, I daresay, you'll never forget.
May you find good fortune through work and through luck
I trust your family will help you if ever you're stuck
But I know that the skills you learn when you're young
Are those that will make you the man you'll become