Side by Side
Changming Yuan
Table
of Contents
1.
Monolines::
Spirit’s Secrets
2.
10 Latest Fashions about Fashion
3.
Buoys: 40 Maxims/Paradoxes/Redefinitions
4.
20 More 21st Century Monolines
5.
25 Monolines
6. 20
More Monolines
7.
Siamese
Stanzas:: Snowflakes
8.
On the Highway
9.
Tenancy
10.
Nostalgia
11. Matrix
of Evolution
12.
One-Act
Play Poems:: Seeking Side by Side
13.
Birdkeeping
14.
Stairclimbing
15.
Grape Eaters
16. Home
Defending
17.
Grammatical
Poems:: Spelling Test
18.
Cat’s Cradle
19.
The Banishment of First Person Singular
20.
An Apocrypha of A
21.
Etymology of Love
22.
Dangling Modifiers
23.
Another Impasse
24.
Real Or Unreal Conditionals
25. Still
Life
26.
Logographic
Lines:: Prosperous Tomorrow Programmed
27.
Earthling Calling
28.
ICQ
29.
In the Lakeheart
30.
The Niagara Falls
31.
Above the Skyline
32.
Eyeglasses
33.
Keatsian Variation
34. Swirling
Swastika: A Chan Poem
35.
Meta
Poems:: Politics vs Poetics
36.
At the Eagle Pass
37.
Across the Vast Open Range
38.
Interpreting a Poem
39.
The Making of a Best Poem
40. Poetry
Penning
41.
Acoustic
Poems:: Behest Impressed
42.
Collage of Voices
43.
Diphthongal Quartet
44.
The Cosmic Music
45.
The Way Forward
46.
Chanson of a Chinaman
47. Light
vs Shadow
48.
Community
Cantos:: Human History
49.
Directory of Directions
50.
N.E.W.S.
51.
S.E.W.N
52.
Towards a Broader Highway
53.
Upgraded Groupings of Animals
54.
1435: The Width of the World
55.
Imperial Impressions
56.
America, America: A Zeugmatic Sketch
57.
Elm’s Agenda
58.
Just a Quick Note
59.
Theological Thesis
60.
Sexual Slogans
61.
The Painting and the Viewer
62.
Serenade
63.
Certified Check against Any American Account
64.
Unedited Utterances
65.
Three Enthymemes
66.
Animal Virtue
67.
Spectrum of Sensations
68.
Steeper Seesaws
69.
English Absurdities
70. Life
Ride
71.
Prose
Poems:: Sell Liberation of Word’s Worth
72.
Wisdom of Quietude
73.
Working Definition of Man
74. [suspected
spam]
75.
Eastern
Idioms:: Ch’i, Or the Original Breath
76.
Yin + Yang
77.
The Unpatented Quadrants
78.
Fate Forecast
79.
The Ballad in Bagua (Or Eight Trigrams): A Mini
Epic*
80. Nine
Detours of the Yellow River
81. Confession
of a Calendar
Monolines
Spirit’s Secrets
1.
In every temple of meaning resides a spirit that
tries to become a god through concentration.
2
All wonders of the human world are decorated
hotels for the traveling Soul.
3
Many already stone dead are still very much
alive, while many still very much alive are already stone dead.
4
Spirit is immortal according to the law of
conservation of matter.
5
It is a strong mind that can gather all the
gossamers of selfhood and turn them into a single whole known as Soul.
6
If we put all the shadows of Spirit together, we
would have a different kind of night.
7
Dream is the only realm where humans, spirits,
ghosts and gods can meet face to face.
8
Every body is a spirit cage.
9
Does a pine tree or wild cat also have a spirit?
10
As an energy form of consciousness, Spirit never
dies in the universe although it may go through numerous processes of change.
If it is strong enough, it can not only outlive the body, but also transform
itself into Soul. Depending on whether it has a categorical superpower, Soul
can become a ghost or a god. That is to say, every human being can become a
supernatural being.
10 Latest Fashions about
Fashion
1. Mask is the only
garment that will never go out of fashion.
2. There are almost as many animals that have taken off
their human clothes as humans that have put on their animal skins.
3. While everything is a garment in the human world,
everyone is a performer in the fashion show.
4. The problem with “postmodern” art is that we have more
art works than artists, and more artists than art viewers in an endless show of
fashion.
5. Fashion is a bizarre business of dying there or living
forever.
6. Every life is a garment; not every garment is a life.
7. We human beings distinguish ourselves by wearing garments
and changing them constantly according to the season.
8. Do we always see what we look at as we look at what we
see?
9. Wear differently among ourselves, but let others wear
exactly the same as we do.
10. As the minds begin to wear uniforms, the bodies need
fashions to show off.
Buoys: 40
Maxims/Paradoxes/Redefinitions
Forty years of
age means no more bewilderment.
--
Confucius
1. There is light in every dream we have in darkness.
2. Pleasant or painful, all experiences are as good as cash
saved for a long rainy day.
3. The meaning of life, if any at all, is to create a
meaning for life.
4. All human relationships are merely a matter of words: the
situation is always determined by how, where, when and what words or nonwords
are uttered by whom.
5. Money is as much a number-play to the rich as a
death-dance to the poor.
6. A house for sale is never a home, while a heart
unoccupied is a hotel for rent.
7. Freedom is the thin distance between the fleeing mouse
and the chasing cat.
8. Love may be 99% honey and 1% money, while marriage is
definitely otherwise.
9. True wealth is measured by the number of times you say no
or take a shower.
10. Birth throws us out into different times whereas death
recalls us back into the same place.
11. One most rewarding self-entertainment is masturbating
with the idea of death.
12. Those who carve their love on their chestbones often
fall in love with those who throw their love together with their used lipsticks
or handkerchiefs.
13. This is not simply a grammatical game of changing the
voice: every man loves a woman, but a woman is not loved by every man, and et
cetera or vice versa.
14. Many still very much alive are stone dead; many already
stone dead are still very much alive.
15. On the stage of life, we may not be able to choose the
play, but we can choose the roles to play.
16. Comedy can come without romance or finance, but tragedy
has to do with either or both.
17. Growth is painful because it means a series of deaths of
our pasts, while death can be pleasant because it may result from a series of
births of our presents.
18. Misfortune is a peculiar privilege.
19. In memories, roses always look fresher, while thorns
less sharp.
20. What we see or read has always been so edited that the
truth remains only in the mind of history unwritten.
21. You may have everything except disease or nothing except
money.
22. Besides winds, fish can also create bubbles on the calm
surface of the water.
23. Remaining an outsider can give you a sense of
superiority, transcendence and peacefulness.
24. Time is the most meticulous makeup master of all.
25. Only those determined to reform others can hope to be
reformed.
26. Parting is painful; even more so is having no one to
part from.
27. He is happy who is not afraid not to be rich, sexual,
famous or powerful.
28. Do some deep thinking about nothing every day, and you
will stay healthy, wealthy and wise.
29. We all have some questions for heaven, but heaven always
remains silent.
30. In this age of information, we are all fish swimming
freely before the net is towed onto the boat.
31. With the whole world becoming so crowded with
salespersons, it is high time to invent new alien buyers for our hearts and
souls.
32. Good writing comes from the proper author from the
proper place.
33. Political correctness means to see to say nothing as if
it were news.
34. Democracy is a government of, by and for the few most
manipulative.
35. You may have as many futures as new beginnings, but you
can have only one past and one present.
36. Wisdom and religion are different in form but identical
in essence: while religion is a ritualized social practice of wisdom, wisdom is
an art of staying happy without having to be successful in a social sense.
37. Many stars have already died long before their light
reaches our eyes.
38. Schooling is either an interruption or an intervention
of learning.
39. There is no distinguishing between black and white, for
the color of life is grey to begin with.
40. Like god who invented man to expel him from heaven, man
invented money to drive himself to hell.
20 More 21st
Century Monolines
1. This is a greying age, where white is turning black while
black white.
2. The old oak wishes to stand still, but the whirlwind
keeps swooping on it.
3. What you hear is the success story edited and enlarged to
increase its news value; what you do not hear is the failure experience
suffered bitterly alone by those who later become known, or never.
4. The problem with art today is that we have more art works
than art viewers, and more artists than art works.
5. No rules are created for their creators.
6. As our world is shrinking into a village, our village is
swelling into a world.
7. It is a powerful government that spends more on pain
killers than on human killers.
8. God died long ago; heroes have all disappeared; and here
man is left standing alone.
9. The more high technologies, the more low minds.
10 Live differently among ourselves, but let others live
exactly as we do.
11. We are living in a world of hawkers: every one is trying
to sell something to the passers-by.
12. Just as knowledge is power, so information is wealth and
wisdom beauty.
13. Fame is but paper-deep: will God come to rescue your
work alone at the end of the world?
14. Everyone is a book: as long as you are willing to open
it, you will find many passages worth reading; everyone has a book, which will
be written only when it has a reader ready for it.
15. The most beautiful music is the sound that stirs your
heart so violently that you fitfully desire to dry-cry in silence.
16. As the minds become increasingly similar, the bodies try
to look more wildly different.
17. What accounts for your life expectancy is your life in
years rather than your years in life.
18. Education makes everyone a politician, politics everyone
a phoney.
19. Life is never fair: you have given it so many
opportunities, but it has given you few in return.
20. Like a silkworm, I have contributed all my silk to the
human world. If it does not care, why should I?
25 Monolines
1. no matter how dark the night is, it can never turn a tiny
snowflake black
2. year by year our village is shrinking in size while the
cemetery is enlarged
3. upon their departure, one umbrella walks into the rain as
the other out of it
4. the sky and eye crush into sunlight in their blue
reflections
5. every fallen tree is a home uprooted
6. the most violent storm starts with a tiny breath of still
air
7. day dreams sell best for the dream catcher
8. death is a stage curtain weaved with the fabric of lead
9. with so many of his shadows fighting on the ground he
becomes a total looker-on
10. in the geared throat of the clock blocks a sharp bone of
hope
11. only still waters can mirror the moon and stars
12. my humble job is to find a cure for a little dying word
13. the lonely tree in the wildness is more an artwork than
the popular wood statue
14. the kissing lips of seawater are chapped with thirst for
land
15. when tightly drawn, a rein of restraint looks more like
a lash mark of slavery
16. spring is charming because of the few traces of filth
and mire after the snow
17. the ground retains all the sound and fury of the dust
18. the pleasant views in heaven are the same as the painful
sights in hell
19. like a squatting grass, a moving earthworm is also
watching our world
20. over our heads is the day’s thick ink rather than the
night’s bitter juice that the sun sprays
21. every leaf facing the sun is shinier and smoother than its
reverse side
22. my child is a fish swimming out of my vein and trying to
join the ocean of a mother’s womb
23. which hits the target successfully when two missiles
meet head on in the open space?
24. for all the deep wrinkles on its face and body, the
walnut cherishes a rich and ripe brain
25. the bird flies as high as heaven, but it has to return
to the earth to make a nest
20 More Monolines
1/ time is the most meticulous makeup master of all.
1/ time is the most meticulous makeup master of all.
2/ there is no distinguishing between black and white, for
the color of life is grey to begin with.
3/ we were made to cry into this world but we can choose to laugh out of it.
4/ life would be much less lenient if it gave us no sorrow or regret at all.
5/ ambition is cheap, while determination is costly.
6/ parting is painful; even more so is having no one to part from.
7/ truly wise people are those capable of making themselves happy about nothing.
8/ on the stage of life, we may not be able to choose the play, but we can choose the roles to play.
9/ the arrow will either hit the target head-on, or break its own head on a rock.
10/ only those with fewer desires can enjoy more freedom.
11/ better to make my life a stuffed eagle than to make it a living pig.
12/ only when you are awake can you find the way you have lost in your dream.
13/ besides winds, fish can also create bubbles on the calm surface of the water.
14/ as you pay attention to their successes, they are examining your failures.
15/ look at others with a telescope, but look at yourself with an amplifying glass.
16/ all is becoming bygones.
17/ in a world of consumerism, we pay for the comfort of our bodies with our souls by installments.
18/ those who succeed in doing everything can seldom become really successful with anything,
19/ every road leads to success.
20/ while others may prefer to live to die, I would rather die to live.
3/ we were made to cry into this world but we can choose to laugh out of it.
4/ life would be much less lenient if it gave us no sorrow or regret at all.
5/ ambition is cheap, while determination is costly.
6/ parting is painful; even more so is having no one to part from.
7/ truly wise people are those capable of making themselves happy about nothing.
8/ on the stage of life, we may not be able to choose the play, but we can choose the roles to play.
9/ the arrow will either hit the target head-on, or break its own head on a rock.
10/ only those with fewer desires can enjoy more freedom.
11/ better to make my life a stuffed eagle than to make it a living pig.
12/ only when you are awake can you find the way you have lost in your dream.
13/ besides winds, fish can also create bubbles on the calm surface of the water.
14/ as you pay attention to their successes, they are examining your failures.
15/ look at others with a telescope, but look at yourself with an amplifying glass.
16/ all is becoming bygones.
17/ in a world of consumerism, we pay for the comfort of our bodies with our souls by installments.
18/ those who succeed in doing everything can seldom become really successful with anything,
19/ every road leads to success.
20/ while others may prefer to live to die, I would rather die to live.
Siamese Stanzas
Snowflakes
with
as little
noise
as much
leisure
as possible
you came
to perch
at this cold
spot of time
like a pale
word
fallen on the
wasteland
merely to
melt
a voiceless being soft
and quiet
never heard before
you
yet ready to vanish
herald tracelessly
the glaring in
the green
thunder wind
of
summer time
On the Highway
tender
shines the
night
the moon looks
foul and
foolish
when dreams
come too close
on the fairy road failure
to turn right
we drive we
must drive
our newly painted jalopy farther
and farther
with changed tires straight
ahead
no less slowly in
the wrong direction
Tenancy
when
we lose
the
keys to our rooms
in
his huge mansion
would
our landlord
cut
us more copies
as
each hope
one of us builds
strives to own our
own house
a patch haunted
of the blue sky where
we keep
though barely each
other’s company
breakable for
doorknocks
Nostalgia
that snowman bigger
than our childhood
we piled at
the vague foreground
has melted as
we try
into sunlight to
find the fine figures
before summer comes in
a vast landscape
where
a crystal glass
of
rich red wine
reaches
out
in
its effort
to return
as a cluster
of
emerald grapes
to
the rambling vine
Matrix of Evolution
adams love eves
love eves
adams
eves adams love
adams adams love
love eves
eves love
adams
eves
love
Play
Poems
Seeking Side by Side
-- While my mind
tries to find a way out of the labyrinth walled with thick wishes, my body
wanders around like a headless fly in the vast Gobi, another labyrinth,
unwalled...
A [With a mask and an
unopened bag for which she tries to find something.] Have you been here
before?
B [With a mask.] Oh,
no! This is the first and last time I am here.
A Many others have been trying to find it under the tree.
Are you here looking for it too?
B Oh, no! What is it that they were looking for? Did they
find it? [Tries to show love to A but is
ignored.]
A Who knows?! [Puts
off her mask and tries to find something.]
B You seem to be looking for something as well?
A [Puts on her mask
again.] Oh, no! Sorry, I got to go now.
[Puts off her mask and walks out of the tree shade.]
B [Takes off his mask
and tries to find something under the tree shade.]
C Hi there! Nice day...are you looking for someone or
something?
B [With his mask on
again.] Oh, no! How do you know that I am looking for someone or something?
C How do you know that I do not know you are not looking for
someone or something?
B I suppose not.
[Exits and takes off his mask.]
C [Takes off his mask
and tries desperately to find something.]
A [Enters with her
mask on and tries to find something] What are you busying looking for?
C [Quickly put his
mask back on.] Oh, n-- nothing. I am just trying to pretend to be looking
for something.
A Why are you doing that?
C Why do you want to know why I want to do that?
B [Enters as he puts
on his mask.] What are you two looking for?
A+C Nothing!
B Then, give me a break. [Dies looking for something but never finds it.]
A+C [Try side by side
to find something under the tree shade as it becomes increasingly darker.]
Birdkeeping
scene i
A [in front of a
detached house, trying to repair his fence while talking to himself]:
Fucking hell, why does there have to be winds all the time? Without these
wicked winds I would never have to worry about my fence, and the whole universe
would have been much more peaceful.
B [passing by, with a
bunch of empty birdcages behind his shoulder]: A nice day to do some
repairing, eh? You know you’ve got a pretty solid house here.
A: Yeah, but it has cost me a lifetime, though, and I can
never pay off my mortgage.
B: You know what I would do? I would hung a bird cage and
keep it open. They say it will make you feel happy at least.
A: Really?! Wish to have one then.
B [giving one of his
empty birdcages to A]: Here happens to be one for you. Happy or not happy, you will keep a bird.
A [taking over the
cage and trying to hung it somewhere]: How come? But we’ll wait and see! [aside] Me to keep a fool bird in this
cage? No way!
scene ii
A [receiving a guest
in his living room]: So, how’s everything going, pal?
C [looking at the bird
cage]: When did you begin to have a bird? What’s happened to your bird?
A: My bird? oh, I never keep a bird, but just …
C: ?
scene iii
A: [talking to himself
before trying to answer a phone call]: Me to keep a bird? No way!
D: [at the other end
of the phone]: I almost forget to say I am sorry for your late birdie, but
didn’t you take good care of it? Perhaps you did not know how to keep a tender
songster to begin with? I’ll lend you many really helpful books; perhaps I can
give you some good tips right now?
A: Oh no! I never keep a bird except…
D: Come on, and cheer up! A bird is just a bird.
scene iv
A [in front of his
house, trying to repair his fence again while talking to himself]: Dogfart,
why does there have to be wicked winds so often? Without them I would never
have to worry about my fence, and the whole universe could have been much more
peaceful.
E [trying to sell a
new product to A]: This time I remember bringing a beautiful bird as a
little present to you. Here you go [putting a pink parrot into the cage].
A: Thanks very much, but…
E: Don’t mention it. This bird belongs just as much to your
cage as your cage to this bird.
scene v
A [standing in the
middle of his living room and yelling loudly at the parrot in the cage]: Me
be a bird in cage? Oh no, me keep a bird in cage? N--
[the parrot mimicking]:
mi-bi-bir-din-kei; mi-ki-pir-din-kei; mi-bi-bir-din-kei; mi-ki-pir-din-kei…
[
Stairclimbing
scene i [on the main floor, in front of the elevator,
right at midnight]
A: How come the elevator has never come down?
B: Probably out of order, again?
C: Why not just climb the stairs and go home?
D + E: Good idea, Bro!
scene ii [on the 20th floor]
B: I am tired of slogging up this stupid stairs.
C: Me too, especially with all this damned luggage.
D: How about putting it here? –we can come down to fetch it
when the elevator is okay tomorrow.
A: You can say that again.
scene iii [on the 40th floor]
C: Totally exhausted. Wish to have been waiting down there
like all other folks.
D: Why the hell did you suggest climbing all these fucking
stairs?
E: Why the hell should we have agreed to do this most stupid
thing in the world?
A: Anyone got a bottle of water? Dying of thirst here.
B [to himself in a low
voice] I got half a bottle, but I myself may need it later.
scene iv [on
the 60th floor]
D [breathing hard]:
I wonder, how many, more steps…to go?
E: Too tired, to climb, another level…
A: Got to take, a good break…
B + C: whew, whew…
scene v [on the top 80th floor]
E: Finally, finally, here we are. Who got the key?
A: I don’t…
B: Left it in the lugguage.
C: Mine also down there.
D: Jesus Christ!
Grape Eaters
scene i
A: Would like to
try some of these grapes? I grew em!
B: Sure! [eating grapes slowly as if during a test]
Were you saying you grew them?
A: Yep! How do
you like em?
B: Very sweet and
juicy. In fact, tastier than any other stuff I’ve eaten. Can we sign something
like a sole agency agreement. This way, I can sell them for you?
A: Oh, forget it.
It is just an experiment in my own garden.
scene ii
A: Try some of
these! You would probably like em.
C: Yummy! Not bad
at all! You grew them?
A: Yeah. This is
a new species I have just developed.
C: Really? How
about mass growing your grapes? I will finance your expansion, I mean, joint venture of some kind?
A: Gosh, I have
never given a thought to that!
scene iii
A: Have some more
of my grapes, Mr. Alderman!
D: Why not! It
tastes terrific!
A: But you do not
seem to like em as much as yesterday?
D: Did I? No, I
remember saying I love your wonderful grapes. Is there anything I can do for
you, to promote your grapes, for instance?
A: Come on! I did
not offer em to you for that!
scene iv
A: Hi, you couple
look kind of weird today. Is there anything wrong?
E+F: Your grapes!
A: My grapes?
E: Since my wife
had a taste of your stuff the other day, she has been acting strange. She
fights with me for nothing, she talks nonsense to herself, she….
A: What is wrong
then? Is she ill, have you seen a doctor?
F: I love what
you said to me when you offered us your grapes.
A: What did I
say? How about my grapes?
E: Were you
trying to seduce my wife, or did you put some chemicals into the grapes?
A: Aren’t you
kidding me, Sir!
scene v
A: Help yourself
with more of my grapes.
G: Thank God!
They are so delicious!
A: If you really
like em, take as many as you can!
G: Are you
serious? You are giving a free lunch or something? Are you a philanthropist?
A: Not really.
But do you or do you not like these grapes?
G [taking off his
pants and trying to put as many grapes as possible into them]: …
A [aside]: I
wonder if there is anyone who does like my poor grapes at all?!
Home Defending
i [knock, knock,
knock]
A: who is it? –
Oh, good morning, ladies!
B+C: Good
morning!
A: You are…
B: We’re just
wondering if you’ve by any chance heard anything about the Jesuits?
A: Oh, sorry, I
am in the middle of something urgent. This is not really a good time…
C: You read
Chinese? Can we leave this pamphlet for you to read when you have time?
A: Sure, I will.
Thank you very much and have a nice day!
ii [knock, knock,
knock]
A: I am coming! [open the door but with some hesitation]
D: Good day, Sir!
A: Good day. What
is it about, you are not –
D: My name is
Angela, and I am volunteering for BC Lung Cancer Society.
A: So you are
here to ask for contributions?
D: Yes, Sir!
Anything would be a great help to our patients…
A: Sure, sure.
Here is 10 bucks. It’s not much, but hopefully will serve them right.
iii [knock, knock,
knock]
A: What do you
want?!
E: I do not want
anything, Mister! But do you want anything almost for free?
A: What is it?
E: A brand new
product you can use on your home computer to…
A: Wait a second!
Is this something for trial use? How long? Any obligation?
E: You are such
smart gentleman! All you need to do is just to fill in this form now…
A: In that case,
I’d prefer not to.
iv [knock, knock,
knock]
A: Not again!
What is it about this time?
F: Would you open
this door first, please?
A: Not until you
tell me what you want first.
F: Look, I’m not
asking for contributions, or trying to sell anything, or…
A: What is it
about then?
F: Just hoping to
give you some brochures about the next election.
A: Why not just
throw them in through the slot?
v [knock, knock, knock]
A [ignoring the
persistent knocks on the door]: ?!
Grammatical Poems
Spelling Test
Happy
Happy is the baby who picks and plays with a plain bottle
among all the fancy toys
Happy
Successful
The dog is successful when it finds the bone it wants to
chew
Successful
Love
If we love animals, they will love plants in return
Love
Peace
When mice begin to enjoy playing with cats, there will be
peace
Peace
Healthy
Children are healthy as long as they are eating, running and
giggling
Healthy
Cat’s Cradle
in my heart is hidden
a rambling
sentence
strictly syntaxed
with too many
stressed syllables
but without any
semantic focus
so I’ve trimmed it into a loveline
not too long or too thick
yet strong enough for you
to play cat’s cradle
with your idioms
The Banishment of First
Person Singular
always capitalized
seldom in lower
case
the only
pro-form of my entire being
coded in my
chosen language
impressive indeed
pronounced with a sole loud vowel
spelt in a
powerful personal letter
without
differentiating the sex
or even an
actual human antecedent
unavoidable and irremovable
you are equally assumed in a sentence
either by a
murmuring illiterate voice
or by a
widely published phd pen
alas, if only the syntax could
hide or spare
my humble self
sometimes
An Apocrypha of A
As the first born to the Semitic family
A was originally a
picture of an alef or ox, the
Agricultural energy that was rotated twice until
Alpha loomed up in the Greek psychoscape even before
Adam became the chosen father of all Europeans close to
Athens, where Apollo had acupunctured wisdom and knowledge
into
Aristotle, the intellectual ancestor of modern man, who inspired
Alexander to make the first effort of globalization, which
did not reach East
Asia, the land of Ah Q’s, the largest hotel for
All travelers until centuries later, but it is
Atomic bombs that will blow up all our pasts and send us
through
America to a higher civilization, where the drop of an
Apple is to enable us to fly to the other side of the
universe
Along the cosmic string as
Africa, the heart of human darkness
Awaits for Buddha, Jesus, Allah or
An other unknown author to come and rotate for the third
time
A scarlet letter of
A
It is perfectly easy:
All you need to do is
To separate ‘be’
From the intended act
Or take out the first letter
From the ‘glove’
[on your personality]
or simply press
and thus cover
the ‘g’ [spot with
Your whole being
Bare]
Dangling Modifiers
to write your dead past
into a living essay
this chapter should be read
with your eyes and mind
both widely open
by perusing or pursuing
such perfectly bound books
all the essential rules
can easily be learned
about their sophisticated syntaxes
taking notes with all her attention
the idiomatic usages
of her adopting language
will be mastered well
over a small spot of time
heavily loaded with grammar
his whole being is
an isolated adverbial
often meant to modify
the wrong logical subject
Another Impasse
Writing from Vancouver West
To my former friends in China
I always feel hesitant
Whether to or not to use
The first person singular pronoun
As in ‘I do not really think so!’
Time and time again, they have
Unnecessarily reminded me of
The biggest difference in language
Between the east and the west:
“There in English you always
Spell your favourite word ‘I’
In big bold italic upper case, however
Here we have really rarely
Employed the word even in poetry”
In their writing practice (probably too long)
They either drop the pronoun or replace it
With many an impersonal thing like:
The present writer,
the writing subject
The unlearned, the
uncouth one
The old person/body,
the little human/one
The trivial/insignificant/unmentionable
The
president/manager/[ ] proper
The person per se, or
more precisely:
[Your] inferior,
[your] subordinate
[Your] stupid
husband/brother/son
[Your] foolish
wife/sister/daughter
[Your] humble [ ], or less humbly:
As [your]
father/mentor/lord…
Instead of standing up for an unmasked person
‘I’ should try to remain hidden like a taboo
In Chinese
Real Or Unreal Conditionals
As if the chrysanthemum leaf were more tender than the petal
As if the china cat were being chased by a cloned mouse
As if money became something like air or sunlight
As if god were to come to rescue your name or fame in particular at the end of the world
As if the knob could tune up love or wisdom
As if the sounds were more brilliant than cherry blossoms
As if the butterflies had never seen a flower
As if the sun were to rise every other month from the north
As if language and art were not modern behavior
As if I had really found the way to become a god after my death
As if you were all to live to 800 years
As if all the world’s water began to drain away from our planet tomorrow
As if consciousness evolved into the only form of intelligent beings…
As if the chrysanthemum leaf were more tender than the petal
As if the china cat were being chased by a cloned mouse
As if money became something like air or sunlight
As if god were to come to rescue your name or fame in particular at the end of the world
As if the knob could tune up love or wisdom
As if the sounds were more brilliant than cherry blossoms
As if the butterflies had never seen a flower
As if the sun were to rise every other month from the north
As if language and art were not modern behavior
As if I had really found the way to become a god after my death
As if you were all to live to 800 years
As if all the world’s water began to drain away from our planet tomorrow
As if consciousness evolved into the only form of intelligent beings…
Still Life
Blue blue, gray gray, green green
Fair fair, square square, light light
Ideographic Poems
Prosperous Tomorrow Programmed
00000000000000
0 0
01111111111111
0 0
00000000000000
111111111111111111111111111
1 1
100000000000000000000000001
1 1
111111111111111111111111111
1 1
0000000000000
0
0
111111111111 0 0
1 1
0 0
1 1
0 0
1 1
0111111111110
100000000001 0 0
1 1
0 0
1 1
0 0
1 1
0 0
111111111111
0000000000000
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
Earthling Calling
we love;
therefore, we are…
.--/.
.-../---/...-/.
-/..././.-././..-./---/.-./.
.--/.
.-/.-./.
.--/.
.-/.-./.
-/...././.-././..-./---/.-./.
.--/.
.-../---/...-/.
I C Q
Y c q?
-- I o u
I o u 1
I, 4 1, o u
2 b / 2c
2 b 1
2 c 1
4 1, u r 1
I c q
Logographic Lines
In the Lakeheart
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
rainbow trout
troutroutroutroutroutrout
waterweeds
w
a
t
e s
r d
w e
e e
e w
d r
s e
t
a
w
sediments
consciousness
memories
The Niagara Falls: A
Snapshot of the Psychoscape
ALL THE STARS, CLOUDS AND
THUNDERS
FROM THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE
DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
WWWWWWWWWWWWW
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
OOOOOOOOOOOOOO
LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
GGGGGGGGGGGGG
suddenly and simultaneously into
the same
.............................??????...
!!!!!!!!!!!!.........!!.................!!!
Above the Skyline
gOd h
u
man S t
a rs
i
moons
moonsa
g come
t s
i
drea ms n
a cl o
u ds
t
ki
tes I
o
bir d s
smoky n mists
buiLdingsBuildingsbUildings
Eyeglasses
WHO TOLD YOU THAT YOU WERE
BORN WITH A WEAK VISION
w yhavetowearapairofglassesy b
I o o e
T u u
t
H c c
t
O a a e
U n n r
Tcanyouseewhatyoul ookatorlookatwhatyoucanc
Keatsian Variation
Heard melodies__________________
Are
sweet those
Unheard are________
Sweeter _________________
songs
sung_______________
Are
fragrant ______________
Those unsung_____
Are even _____________
More
Fragrant________________________
Swirling Swastika: a Chan
Poem
FAMEFAM
EM M
E O
D
N
I E
SMEDITATINGMEDITATIY
E T
X
A
S
T
E
I
X
NPOWERPOW
Meta Poems
Politics vs Poetics
in a busy simile-like street
with masks of synecdoche and metonymy
so many metaphors are dancing wildly
that no oxymoron can elbow his way
through crowds of symbols and hyperboles
to his long lost friend paradox
trying to converse with a shy-looking allusion
after standing too long on tiptoes
between consonance and assonance
i become an internally-rhymed road plate
pointing towards the shiny euphony
with no onomatopoeia painted on my face
hardly visible beside the fast lane
At the Eagle Pass
like a shepherd driving his sheep to the pen
the wind keeps blowing wisps of mists
nature’s indistinct trains of thoughts
into the
murmuring mouth of the valley
where they gather to make a simple sentence
with the
mountain peak as the subject
the river as the predicate and
all the trees as
its modifiers
unspeakable
Across the Vast Open Range
as if to demonstrate
his roping
talents
the cowpuncher looses up his lasso
and throws it afar and straight
dropping it
right over
nouns like
grizzly bears
verbs like
coyotes
adjectives
like eagles
adverbs
like rattlesnakes
and other
function words
like buzzards
before the snowstorm sweeps all
the creatures from the prairies
Interpreting a Poem
shake the film
with all your pleasant leisure
in the clean and crystal water
of your imagination
just wait in your dark room
until the pictures loom
or hold the kaleidoscope straight
against the sunshine in your mind
and keep rolling it slowly
you will see varied views of beauty
but do not hit it too hard
with the hammer of your will
for the shell and meat
would be crushed together
The
Making of a Best Poem
1/
A: a worthy arrangement of worthless words
B: a public print-out of private puzzles
C: a rational repetition of random ravings
2/
A: mailed from a good address, better school-associated
B: including a good bionote, better award-winning
C: signed with a good name, better recognizable
3/
A: received by a well-circulated magazine
B: read by a well-connected editor
C: recommended by a well-established publisher
4/
A: the magazine is in the right need
B: the editor is in the right mood
C: the publisher is of the right kind
5/
A: published in the perfect year
B: included in the perfect section
C: presented on the perfect page
6/
A: selected by a poetry lord, somehow intrigued
B: voted by an expert reader, somehow over-reading
C: chosen by a guest editor, somehow idiosyncratic
Poetry Penning
(for Charles Bukowski)
Poetry penning has to be the saddest damned business to do
today:
You melt the letters with the best ingredients you have
Your boldest blood, your tenderest tears and your saltiest
sweat
Every piece uniquely heart-made
Packaged with the purest silk of your soul
And priced far below the cost of the little fire in your
body
But you can sell it for not a single cent
Indeed, only a few tribesmen and tribeswomen caring most
about this archaic trade
Might come and take a casual look
When it is marked ‘free’
Like some utensils in a used box put on the road side
Oh yeah, with more wordsmiths than wardwares
More wardwares than hawkers
More hawkers than patrons
How can you expect the miracle of a market niche
For this sad damned business
As more and more patrons turn to raps, heavy metal music
Soaps, chat rooms, computer games, virtual sex
Hot dogs, chilled beers, pot or marijuana
That can entertain every nerve ending
The human body may or may not have besides the mind
So, if you must pen something
You’d best try a story, a screenplay, a slogan or even a
spam
What I say is, pen pal
You may well pen anything
But for Christ’s sake
Not this crap
Acoustic Poems
Behest Impressed
from a messed nest to a jest fest
with a blessed crest and a dressed breast
the pressed guest had best detest
molest or invest in a west quest
for the chest of zest
in the assessed protest
against the test of pest
lest the rest vest
in the depressed or accessed
Collage of Voices
...did you
did you sight that
last night
a miraculous mirage
of sounds without
bounds:
mishmash, hodgepodge-
jingling,
jangling
tingling,
tangling
chitchat, ticktack
clink clank,
claptrap
riprap,
syrupchirrup
hubble-bubble, hocus-pocus
like a symphony of cacophony
a cantata by the
dead
all woven into a fine line of the mind
or a
colored call
did you hear that?
Diphthongal
Quartet
(for children and others)
hi the guy, dye the tie
I to my eye cry and lie
Why to vie and sigh in the rye?
Show or throw, a crow is no foe
No foe would go so very low
Flow the toe or owe a blow
How to tow, how to vow
Allow the bow for a pow-wow
Now to cow in order to row
Bake a cake, make a flake
Brake the snake for wake’s sake
Take the ache off the fake lake
The Cosmic Music
With your heart’s ear can you clearly hear
The sound from an unknown planet far beyond our galaxy
A few tender grasses whose deafening snoring has awakened a
whole new world
Where the souls of our relatives are traveling all in a
hurry
As if to attend a spring gathering?
The Way Forward
Tick, ticktack, ticktock
A cloudy sound persists around
Looming lonely
in the lightless park
Waiting, wandering or hesitating
As so many of us have ceased
Groping our ways
out of dark
Hey, no more path
appears ahead
Someone kindly reminds the blind man
Thanks, but your warning is really off
the mark
Tick, ticktack, ticktock
His seeing rod rhyming with the unseen clock
Behind his faded
footsteps follows a fresh path
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