The Last Laundry

More than a century ago
Fraser Canyon winds cold and hard
Men came out, worn faces chasing hope
They reached Moose Jaw, the town opening its arms
They settled along River Street
Years later, one among them ran his own laundry

In that dim laundry
the air was thick with steam and soap
The laundry man’s hands were rough with calluses
scrubbing away dirt, and the weight of years

Wooden tubs and an old (flat) iron plate
Clink Clank… from dawn to late
Wash by wash, he washed every shirt
tried to wash away the world’s dirt

Only in rare pauses did he change into a clean long gown,
then life came alive downstairs
Among his own people, he used cupping therapy for old pain
Mahjong tiles sounded like home not far away

Tink ting, click clack, as dinner time came…
Ah Key brought salted fish, Uncle Howe brought rice wine
Ah Fat kept pulling people into finger games over wine
They ate, they laughed, they cursed the cold winter wind
and then, they shared letters from wives back home

When the room grew quiet again, and night settled on the walls
only loneliness surrounded him
You know, the world is not always fair
sometimes you have to go through a long, long cold night

Those Fraser Canyon stones still ache in his flesh
telling of the railway years he barely survived
Head tax and exclusion laws kept his wife
and children out of reach for many long years

History never kept everyone’s name
but everyone deserves their love and a life of their own
And when no justice reached this laundry
The laundry man stood HIS ground with all HIS strength

Wooden tubs and an old (flat) iron plate
Shuuuk shuurt… from dawn to late
Wrinkle by wrinkle, he smoothed each cloth
trying to iron out life’s injustice

Wooden tubs and an old (flat) iron plate
Shuuuk shuurt… from dawn to late
Wrinkle by wrinkle, he smoothed each cloth
trying to iron out every injustice

History never kept everyone’s name
but the last laundry man
who lived in a world that was never fair
He stood his ground with all his strength

Wooden tubs and an old (flat) iron plate
Shuuuk shuurt… from dawn to late
Wrinkle by wrinkle, he smoothed each cloth
trying to iron out every injustice

In 1947, after many long years…
He finally met his wife and children
Together they ran the laundry until he was gone
And the laundry man was no longer alone

He named his little daughter Helen
for the sunlight he hoped she’d know

*Inspired by Chinese Canadian history, Beyond a single soul

Oh Moose Jaw