Word of the Day in Chinese - Lan is blue

I met a man whose name is Lam
The name of his family
Now Lam and Lim are common names
So they're not new to me

I asked him what does your name mean?
He said, 'It's written Lam
But in Chinese it sounds like Lan
Chinese is what I am.'

I said, 'So in Chinese it's Lan?'
What does that mean to you?
He said, 'The Chinese character
Means the colour word, blue.'

I said, 'So if I'm in a shop
And looking at a shoe,
A dress in pink, I ask for Lan
If what I want is blue?'

Lam is Lan and Lan is blue
That's our new word today
Now we have learned just what to do
Lan - (blue), is what we say

It's very clear to me today
But memory fades that's true
So I must write a little rhyme
So I can remember blue

I met a man whose name was Lam
But it's Lan in Chinese
That's blue as the sea around our land
Lan - blue - free lesson, with no fees.

-ends-
Copyright Angela Lansbury, March 25 2016

The poem might not rival Shakespeare but it serves it purpose, to remind me and you that Lan is blue.
If you need to remember a word, a friend's name, or a word in a foreign language, write a poem.

Groucho Marx said that his favourite poem was thirty days hath September because it teaches you something you need to know.

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Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, language teacher, poet, speaker.