Home Address

Written by Joy Chen
By Joy Chen

No.38, Lane 45, Zheng Yi S. Rd., San Chong Dist., New Taipei City, Taiwan

No. 38
We live at No 38.
It is a four-storey duplex cement building
Life is vertical, one piled on top of the other
One family’s leaking toilet
is the other one’s tragedy
When the mail man comes with his scooter,
he stops and shouts: hey, No. 38, your mail is here.

Lane 45
We live at Lane 45.
It is an alley; a series of cement buildings tower on both sides
Life is narrow, we share a strip of sky
Neighbours are like family
also never stop spying
We play hide and seek,
behind the scooter, in the staircase

Zheng Yi South Road, San Chong District
We live in San Chong District
It is a suburb of the capital, contain with hundreds of alleys
It is famous for its gangster activity
In reality, it is just a lovely community.
Life is warm-hearted
When mom goes to the traditional market for some veggies,
the vendors give her hot peppers to make the dishes tasty

New Taipei City
We live in New Taipei City
It sits in the northern tip
Surrounded by mountains and nursed by rivers
Containes within 24-hours stores and mass public transit
The city never sleeps
Life has no time limit
3 AM. in the morning, if you want something to eat,
Indeed, you are able to find something

Taiwan
We live in Taiwan
An island floating on the Pacific, tucked beside the mainland
Portuguese called it “Formosa” meaning a beautiful island
Magnificent mountains occupy most of it
leaving a small edge for 23.2 million human beings
Life is crowded
When it comes to identity
Chinese or Taiwanese or just human beings

About the Author

Joy (Yu Yen) Chen is from Taiwan. She is taking Creative Writing 100 at Selkirk College to improve her understand of English Language and increase her writing skills.

Scroll to Top