I was baptised in china – for dVerse

· by · in dVerse, poetry. ·

I was baptised at my grandmother's home by my father's uncle

I was baptised at my grandmother’s home by my father’s uncle


More than 50 years ago
a child was welcomed to Asia
baptised in a bowl with history
(the child was me)

A little bowl from China
decorated to a European taste
for a growing middle-class
(profit was enormous)

painted in blue, a look alike
of what Europeans thought
was uniquely Chinese style
(what an irony)

the sailing East Indiaman
loaded tea, porcelain & silk
in the city of Guangzhou
(the little bowl also)

finally on their way for home
a mere 10 months remaining
before arriving home again
(they longed for home)

they almost made it home
before entering the harbour
BOOM – marooned
(crew was home but cargo lost)

rescue missions saved a lot
enough to still give profit
but 70 percent was lost in sea
(among those a little bowl)

my great grandfather thought
capturing some of what remained
probably with little gain
(but the little bowl was saved)

the bowl became a heirloom
with barnacle ring to remind
of its many years at sea
(but still just a bowl)

my father’s uncle, the bishop
in the home of my grandmother
used the bowl as baptismal font
(so I was baptised in china)


—
Today Kelvin wants us to write poetry about Asia at dVerse. Huge opportunities, but I wanted to make it personal. So here you have the story of how I am connected to China. The story about the ship Götheborg and the whole story about the East Indian companies is a fascinating one, and this is just scratching the surface a little. The little bowl still remain in the family.
—
May 18, 2013

46 responses to “I was baptised in china – for dVerse”

  1. What a wonderful story, Bjorn. Love the history of your baptism, and how nice that this bowl still exists as an heirloom…with barnacle ring as well!

  3. Please explain to me why there are little parts in ()’s is this just to explain the meaning or is it a style of writing. I know very little and would love an explanation.

  4. what a cool story behind the bowl you were baptised with…i can see why it is such an heirloom…being some of the bit that was saved…we study the trading a bit in history class…

    so how many times do you pull that bowl down and tell the story at parties? smiles.

  7. Excellent! Beautiful poem–I really liked your structure with the asides placing it all in context and/or providing commentary. Really enjoyed this.

  9. And today Kelvin gave you the impetus to fully connect to your past, family, and that “Chinese” bowl; a lovely artifact, nostalgia, sentiment and history forever; thanks for sharing.

  10. this is a wonderful story björn and so cool on the bowl as well…great, personal write…and you also made me curious to read a bit more about the background story

  12. …a gem… ah, lucky you for skinning a noble history with you…i was really entertained by your story & loved the suggestive voice out of those words in parenthesis… i was a bit jelous as i was just baptized normally & plainly… lol… smiles…

  17. Lovely lovely photo. I still have my silver baptismal cup.Originally I thought you born in China which would make you a blonde Chinese:)
    Enjoyed this poem.

  18. yes, there’s china and then there is China.
    Nive pun or play upon words, B jorn.

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