Palm Tree

I see you again. Palm Tree I see you again又見棕櫚 又見棕櫚

At the University of Alberta, in Canada

My friends from Drama Club did a play for the Chinese Students Association on Campus in the eighties

I was only helping out at backstage

But something happened

I was out of control of the situation

My task was only to translate what the Director wanted simultaneously to the Canadian speaking technician

(p.s now I remember I did try to describe visually over the phone about a poster I designed for the show

I did give OK over the phone of this reversed process as the typographical technician had difficulties in printing the golden palm trees and the golden lettering. I was even told that it had been the worst poster ever printed in the history of the Chinese Drama Club at the U of A- what a compliment)

The misunderstanding and the attribution to me regarding this unpleasant adventure was overwhelming.)

At one point

I never went back to do theatre

All these years

Ever since I met Director Ng Wui 吳回in 1971/1972

I became a painter thanks to those people in Chinese Drama club who never believed in me as a pictorial artist .

Then at one point

I went to study in Florence

Where I happened to meet YU Lihua ( in 1983/84)

The author of The Palm Tree, I see you again ， Palm Tree, I see you again 又見棕櫚 又見棕櫚

We chatted together with her family

Over lunch at Trattoria La Maremmana in Florence. (Thank you again for your lunch)

Then one day

Her daughter Anna and the baby of a month old ( her grandchild)

Came to our house in Via Laura

Where the palm tree was not yet planted

Now

I remember with much pleasure

Of the past

And of the wonderful meeting with the author of this famous novel

Other watercolors I did

Took from the film by Chan Man

“ entwined trunks” made in 1960.

It was a touching story of an impossible made possible love story.

So I wonder where I came from, my way of understanding values imposed by different cultures, at different epoch . ( I was two years old when this film was made)

Then the final scene I immortalized as a watercolour

Was taken from Autumn Leaves by CHOR Yuen ( 1961).

The declaration of Love, Patrick Tse said in the film

(From what he understood )

Is sometimes too early, at other times too late.

Love declaration

However

Is never too late.

Thank you to all those who have met me,

Even if being misunderstood

Love

When declared

Is made alive

Like the blooming of the magnolia flower

Outside my window

It is alive

Antonio says

In Italian 

Blooming is written sbocciata

Failing is written as bocciata

Just one letter missing, one fails

Just one letter added, one is alive

Florence, the beautiful city 

Means Fiorenza / Florentia in the old days

Also implying blossoming

Alive

My dear Florence

Alive

Blooming

Because Love

Travels within

Without boundaries of time and space

To say

I Love you

Bernadette 

( near Rome at her garden, 4/06/2018)

又見棕櫚

再謝翡冷翠

電影

水彩畫

昔日的聚會

昔日的翡冷翠

木蘭樹

心心情

我愛你這三個字

或許

不是如楚原電影中謝賢的對白般

因為

說這話時

的心

是永恆的代表

李錦芙看芙蓉開花寄情於意大利逸園