Chanson of a Chinaman*
ching chong, coolie
chink, shina, chonky
so was i called a dragon of barbarity
a born rogue holding laws of truth in deformity
because i ate rats, dogs, slugs and snakes
i began with anything but genes of true humanity
ching chong, coolie
chink, shina, chonky
so am i made a dead enemy of civility
a growing grotesque against the white reality
because i hate freedom as much as human rights
though i have the right to remain a human entity
ching chong, coolie
chink, shina, chonky
so will i be seen a species of non-conformity
a satan inflated beyond the borders of christianity
as long as i’m pig-eyed, crow-haired, the farthest other
i must be treated as a real demon only
* A parody on ‘A Chanson for
Canton,’ published in Punch (London: April 10, 1858), which offers a
telling historical example illustrative of the deeply-rooted and long-held
western tendency to demonize China as the farthest Other.
Light vs Shadow
Was it the shadow?
Was it the shadow beyond?
Was it the shadow beyond the shadow?
Still fell the thick night,
When the heart blocked the light.
Yes, it is light!
It is light within!
It is light within light!
Loud sweeps the morning glow,
Where the mind has no shadow.
Community Cantos
Human History: A Digital Poem
five eleven
one seventy
and six or seven
plus
thirty four
twenty nine
and thirty five
approximately equals
three and
indefinitely more
times
(point six one eight?)
eden as the function
for the whole world
uncertain
Directory
of Directions: A Module Poem
North: after the storm
all dust
hung up
in the
crowded air
with his
human face
frozen into
a dot of dust
and a
rising speckle of dust
melted into
his face
to avoid
this cold climate
of his
antarctic dream
he
relocated his naked soul
at the dawn
of summer
South: like a raindrop
on a small
lotus leaf
unable to
find the spot
to settle
itself down
in an early
autumn shower
my little
canoe drifts around
near the horizon
beyond the
bare bay
Center: deep
from the thick forest
a bird’s
call echoes
from ring
to ring
within each
tree
hardly perceivable
before it
suddenly
dies off
into the closet
of a noisy
human mind
West: not unlike a
giddy goat
wandering
among the ruins
of a long
lost civilization
you keep
searching
in the
central park
a way out
of the tall weeds
as nature
makes new york
into a
mummy blue
East: in her
beehive-like room
so small
that a yawning stretch
would
readily awaken
the whole apartment building
she draws a
picture on the wall
of a
tremendous tree
that keeps
growing
until it
shoots up
from the
cemented roof
N. E. W.
S .: A Rotating Poem
North: after the storm
all dust
hung up
in the
crowded air
with his
human face
frozen into
a dot of dust
and a
rising speckle of dust
melted into
his face
to avoid
this cold climate
of his
antarctic dream
he
relocated his naked soul
at the dawn
of summer
East: in her
beehive-like room
so small
that a yawning stretch
would
readily awaken
the whole apartment building
she draws a
picture on the wall
of a
tremendous tree
that keeps
growing
until it
shoots up
from the
cemented roof
West: not unlike a
giddy goat
wandering
among the ruins
of a long
lost civilization
you keep
searching
in the
central park
a way out
of the tall weeds
as nature
makes new york
into a
mummy blue
South: like a raindrop
on a small
lotus leaf
unable to
find the spot
to settle
itself down
in an early
autumn shower
my little
canoe drifts around
near the horizon
beyond the
bare bay
S. E. W. N .: A Rotating Poem
South: like a raindrop
on a small
lotus leaf
unable to
find the spot
to settle
itself down
in an early
autumn shower
my little
canoe drifts around
near the horizon
beyond the
bare bay
East: in her
beehive-like room
so small
that a yawning stretch
would
readily awaken
the whole apartment building
she draws a
picture on the wall
of a
tremendous tree
that keeps
growing
until it
shoots up
from the
cemented roof
West: not unlike a
giddy goat
wandering
among the ruins
of a long
lost civilization
you keep
searching
in the
central park
a way out
of the tall weeds
as nature
makes new york
into a
mummy blue
North: after the storm
all dust
hung up
in the
crowded air
with his
human face
frozen into
a dot of dust
and a
rising speckle of dust
melted into
his face
to avoid
this cold climate
of his
antarctic dream
he
relocated his naked soul
at the dawn
of summer
Towards a Broader Highway:
A Parallel Poem
Is it an old bumpkin again
Driving a jalopy ford pick up
Unable to speed up on a highway
Or some mrs billionaire sitting behind the wheel
Of a s8000 mecedez
Too careful with her fancy life
Somewhere in the front?
Surely there is no accident
No police patrol or even a red light
You fuck, you dumb shit, why do you
Have to drive so stupid slow
On such a grey Saturday evening?
You dumb shit, you shouldn’t do this, people
eager to press horns on you, to zigzag, to
Switch on and off their highbeams to protest
Against you originating such snail traffic
All of us have to drive at this speed you set
Even tho a red toyota cannot wait to make love tonight
A blue mac to have a good beer all by himself
And a white shadow to meet her death by the weekend
You fuck, blocking this long single-laned traffic
If only I were driving a crazy tank or a frenzy bulldozer
So I can crash your stupid soul, crush your snail car
And clear the way to my destiny in the twilight
Upgraded Groupings of
Animals
A pod of turtles
A goggle of swans
A flock of tigers
A bevy of ducks
A clutter of mice
A cast of snakes
A murder of peacocks
And a pride of humans
1435 mm: The Width of the
World
rather than
god-ruled
or science-decided
this cold distance
between the bloody wheels
of an ancient roman chariot
toppled down
long ago
on a forgotten English road
with its ruts
still clearcut
is actually man-made
to rift off the
two rivaling rails
laid now to
measure every nation
as they tightly tie
the whole
human civilization
into an open cage
Imperial Impressions:
The First and
Last Trip to Las Vegas
07:38am Through
Peace Arch
even a titan would strongly feel
dwarfed
the moment he crosses the broad
border
12:07pm At
Sea-Tac
sorry to
have forgotten to remove my shoes
to help
make this only superpower a bit safer
19:56pm In the
Strip
every angle
offers a memorable photo for the camera
as each
building defines magnificence in its own way
22:22pm On a
Stratosphere Bed
with fragmented dreams festooned
with foiled gold
no poetry
can be conceived among slot machines
America, America: A Zeugmatic Sketch
Every time you stage a play or an election in your own yard
You cannot wait to shake hands with your audiences and their
wealth
No matter whether it is the passage of a new bill or an old
dilemma
You excel particularly at manipulating public will and
private property
With your weeping eyes and hands
You keep waging war and peace far beyond your boundaries
While you kill non-Americans and their hope together
To turn all others and othernesses into biblical dust
More often than not, you selfish intentions prove
Much more destructive than your smart bombs
You invisible fighter jets strike far farther
Than your visible arms of peace effort
You are simply too great for a small criticism
Too super-powerful for a weak opposition
Too democratic for a totalitarian competition
And too single-minded for a double standard
Elm’s Agenda
5am – 7: exhaling carbon dioxide together with fret and frenzy
7am – 7:30: reaching out its fingers to coop the
first sunrays
7:30am – 8: getting ready to work
8am – 10:30: watching humans walking or working
10:30am –10:45: taking a shower break
10:45am –12: negotiating with crows and squirrels
12am – 1pm: taking a break from swirl winds
1pm – 5: taking off all decorations
5pm – 6: getting ready for the darkness
6pm –10: keeping standing as the dusk closes its huge wings
10pm –5am: witnessing dreams running rampant on
the streets
Just A Quick Note
Sorry
To have
Changed
The lock
Though
I had
Strongly
Wished
There
Would
Never
Be
Such
Need
Theological Thesis
Nay, Eve did not
Eat the apple
Rather, she ate an onion
A really red hot onion
Nor was she seduced
By the ugly serpent
But by a handsome human
Who became her sole partner
So, the human history
Has been infused with
Women’s tears
And men’s guilt
Sexual Slogans
A steak a day keeps the court away
A touch a minute keeps the body in spirit
A lie an hour keeps the chief in power
An injection a night keeps the mind light
A dinner a week keeps the heart freak
A honeymoon a month keeps the government at arm’s length
A trip a season keeps the dog in reason
A chef a year keeps the house dear
A wedding a decade keeps the couple off headache
The Painting and the Viewer
The Painting
Close-up: a
clumsy collage of paint unevenly spread
Long-shot: a
landscape transplanted onto a canvass
The Viewer
On a hilltop: he is
admiring the vast mountain scene
At a porthole: she is
watching him lost in a small fresco
Serenade
Tonight, in the heart
Of ?________
A:
darkness
B:
fret
C:
frenzy
D: twilight
E: …?
I move the _______
A: lamp
B: book
C: picture
D: torch
E: …?
from the outer world
to my inner landscape
just like a train looming
swiftly and
surely
out of a long tunnel
Certified Check Cashable
against Any American Account
No: 6.000,000,001
Date: 4 July 1776
PAY TO THE ORDER OF: Universe,
Citizen
One hope two equalities three rights and four freedoms
XX/100
DOLLARS
Bank of Faith
1600 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE NW
WASHINGTON, DC 20500 TEL:(1-888)999-9999
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ZOO SOLAR SYS
(Signature)_George Washington
Unedited Utterances
- are we really living
or actually
being lived?
- their love of art
makes them
grasp
while their
love of god
makes them
give up
- behind a wounded heart
is a heart
wounded behind
- your birthday present
sent by
generous time
is a big
brilliant basket
filled with
colored water
- the flood has come
this is a myth
no more
the flood has
gone
this is still
a myth as before
Three Enthymemes
Human imagination is as infinite as universe
God is a human imagination
God is omniscient
The harder good is the better good
Virtue is the harder good to acquire than pleasure
Virtue is better good
Energy follows the law of preservation of matter
Art is a particular form of energy
Art is immortal
Animal Virtue
1
in the big mouth
of an african alligator
open wide as broad daylight
a little nameless bird
is pecking joyfully
with leisure and pleasure
at his tooth slit
as if flirting with her bulky lover
trying to protect her
against the sun
burning flesh and earth
2
around the old
weak, sick and disabled
as well as innocent colts
the zebras get ready to build
a circle of wall
with their naked bodies
each time a lion looms
and waits for his first chance
to prey on one of the unlucky
3
alone and quietly
the doomed elephant
the once strongest of the rain forest
retreats deeper and deeper
into the limberlost of distances
struggling to die somewhere
in an unknown corner
far beyond the tusking territory
of his silent survivors
to keep their hope alive
Spectrum of Sensations
Life is a kaleidoscope of
duo, rei,
mi, fa, suo, lao, ti, duo
red, blue,
black, white, purple, green, yellow
sour,
sweet, bitter, hot, salty, puckery, greasy
wet, dry,
soft, hard, smooth, sharp, cold
fresh,
fragrant, foul, fishy, rotten, suffocating…
Steeper Seesaws
The higher the income, the lower the morals
The taller the building, the shorter the attention span
The bigger the house, the smaller the family
The more wealth, the less joy
The more conveniences, the less leisure
The more knowledge, the less judgment
The more medicine, the less health
The more protection, the less security
The faster the transportation, the slower the communication
The closer the network, the looser the relationships
The cleaner the environment, the dirtier the mind
The wider the highway, the narrower the perspective
English Irrationalities
There might be love in between gloves
But no egg in eggplant, or ham in hamburger
English muffins did not originate from England
Nor French fries from France
Sweetmeats are actually candies
While sweetbreads are meat though not sweet at all
Readers read, singers sing
But typewriters do not type, nor fingers fing
A mouse can multiply into mice
But a grouse never into grice
People may recite at a play and play at a recital
Their noses run while their feet smell
They park on the driveway, or drive on the parkway
Ship by truck and send cargo by ship
Teachers may be taught, but preachers are never praught
One goose may stand between two geese
So may one tooth between two teeth
But a booth can never between two beeth
If vegetarians eat vegetables
What would so-called humanitarians do to humans?
Life==Ride===
not really because i have an invalid ticket=
but probably because i got on the
wrong train=
i keep elbowing
my way from one car to another=
only to find no seat unoccupied
or reserved for me=
huddling in cold together with my own soul and shadow=
i have but the corridor as my
claim in this cage-like compartment=
there is surely
more room and warmth in a sleeping car=
yet without the conductor’s key i
cannot pass the gate=
among my fellow passengers are relatives and strangers alike
they will keep me company whether
they like my face or not=
unawares many
have gotten off the train at dawn or dusk=
but even more pack onto the cars
each time we run idle=
i enjoy catching the scenes surging outside the window=
my only luggage left when I have to get off at my station
Prose Poems
Sell Liberation of Word’s Worth
Although with a broken pen soul, I am not writing tear ably
or pointlessly on the new clear issue for the magazine run by a non-prophet
society, set up on the basis of its members’ lie ability. To me, an operation
would not secure but mean a sentence to the peace in that infected area. As a
banana author, I may lack a peel, but it is rarely better to turn left than to
be all right. To avoid a rest, I have de sided to go fast on a weak day; then I
will call my sun to rice in the mourning after he falls in love at the first
site. In deed, if we give the act an inch, it would become a ruler. Just like a
life guard, I hope to keep all the buoys in line. With a film-like memory yet
to be developed, I try to keep my head above the water as I swim for word, yet
I have no interest in the bank. Unlike a lawyer who may be debarred or a model
to be deposed, i will never become a poet to be decomposed, nor do I allow my
train of thaw derailed; rather, I will commit sue side by continuing to write
worse or move in verse.
Wisdom of Quietude
it happens in a huge warehouse full of priceable objects as
workers of every conceivable height and weight are busy trying to find a little
watch lost by an unknown fellow worker. for a whole hour of great confusion and
desperation, they keep opening, closing, moving and removing the beautifully
packaged cases or boxes but without being able to retrieve the indifferent time
teller. finally, they cannot but give up and leave in asphyxiating disappointment.
While everyone of them is taking a rest outside, a small boy steals into the
warehouse alone and finds the precious thing only a few minutes later.
"gee, how did you manage to do that, kid?" they vied with one another
in asking him the same question. "well, all i did was just lie down on the
floor quietly and stay put there for a couple of minutes, and the tick tock led
me to locate the watch.”
Working Definition of Man
They enjoy covering their ideas, feelings, actions, words as
well as their body parts with various garments; they evolve by inventing new
weapons to kill their own species; they eat each other without spitting out the
bones; they run after fame and wealth besides sex and food; and they tell lies,
often saying what they never mean to say, and meaning what they never say they
mean.
They show interest in truth, beauty and good; they are self
sufficient, capable of producing food and music; they can smile and love; they
try to cage those most ferocious among themselves; and they accumulate
knowledge as well as material.
They have created
money as well as gods…
[Suspected Spam]
Dearest One,
I am writing this letter with due respect and healthful of
tears since we have never known each other, but I confide in you bearing in mind
that one has to take risks to survive trial times.
I am Ms Poesia, the only inherent of the late Art. Before
the war broke out, my father deposited thousands of Stanzas in the Literary
Canon. Given the present state of the human mind to be entertained in my
society, I am hoping to get some understanding in installments from readers
like you. For each reading I promise to offer you one golden Stanza to show my
gratitude.
Please kindly contact me on this e-mail address for more
details. (For example: one Golden Stanza is equivalent to about one million
American Dollars.)
Miss Poesia
Peach Garden, Erehwon
Eastern Idioms
Ch’i, Or the Original Breath
neither the hindu prana
nor the Christian holy spirit
i am the authentic source
of light and energy
the force of vital life itself
that you cannot see
touch, taste, hear, or feel
but you can always map
my omnipresence
with the clairvoyant tentacles
of your spirited soul
like air, like water
like air married with water
i am constantly flowing
from yin to yang
or to yin from yang
through and around everything
seeking mixed smoothness
and becoming balanced
although in the depth
of my selfhood
contains an infinitesimal seed
ready to grow
into my own antiself
unworldly, beyond words
i do not even have a shape
but I do have a nickname
as lao zi used to call me
am DAO
Yin + Yang
the light soaring spirit
…within…the
heavy metallic matter
the budding summer dawn
…beyond…the
withered wintry dusk
the hot and hard sunbeam
…through…the
cool and soft moonlight
the thin snowflakes
…along…the
thick ink
the shiny plane
…around…the
dark dot
the transparent palace
…from…the
muddy field
the chasing eagle
…over…the
submersed slab
the boundless southern sky
…above…the
fenced northern earth
the dry poetic voice
…at…the wet
narrative pitfall
the male
…with…the
female
from and towards……the imbalanced balances
The Unpatented Quadrants
we chinamen, half and quarter chinamen
children of eight or sixteenth chinamen
constantly pounded with a peculiar pride
over our ancestry's four great inventions:
the
first was paper to transcribe ancient ballads
but
later often used to give ultimata to your emperors
also
the printing technique to transmit sages' teachings
but
later often used to exhibit your ugliest scars
a
third the compass to help find the golden dragon
but
later often used to guide your foreign creditors
the
last gunpowder to launch fireworks at spring festival
but
later often used to bombard your long walls
they
chinese, half and quarter chinese
children of
eight or sixteenth chinese
baffled
with belief, brief belief
that their
unknown ancestors happened to invent
the
wrong stuffs in the right times
or
the right stuffs in the wrong places
Fate Forecast
- Believe it or not, the ancient Theory of the Five
Elements accounts for us all.
1 Metal (born in a year ending in 0 or 1)
-helps water but hinders wood; helped by earth but
hindered by fire
he used to be totally dull-colored
because he came from the earth’s inside
now he has become a super-conductor
for cold words, hot pictures and light itself
all being
transmitted through his throat
2 Water (born in a year ending in 2 or 3)
-helps wood but hinders fire; helped by metal but
hindered by earth
with her transparent tenderness
coded with colorless violence
she is always ready to support
or sink the powerful boat
sailing
south
3 Wood (born in a year ending 4 or 5)
-helps fire but hinders earth; helped by water but
hindered by metal
rings in rings have been opened or broken
like echoes that roll from home to home
each containing fragments of green
trying to tell their tales
from the forest’s depths
4 Fire (born in a year ending 6 or 7)
-helps earth but hinders metal; helped by wood but
hindered by water
your soft power bursting from your ribcage
as enthusiastic as a phoenix is supposed to be
when you fly your lipless kisses
you reach out your hearts
until
they are all broken
5 Earth (born in a year ending in 8 or 9)
-helps metal but hinders water; helped by fire but
hindered by wood
i think not; therefore, I am not
what I am, but I have a color
the skin my heart wears inside out
tattooed intricately
with
footprints of history
The Ballad in Bagua (Or
Eight Trigrams): A Mini Epic*
qua a: The
Creative
hush! did you ever hear
in the very vastest void
a voice almost invisible
awakening Pan Gu
the great father of life
who had arisen
slowly but steadily
amidst all nothingness?
with his hands like a huge ax
Pan Gu clove the chaos into yin and yang
one floating high above
clear and clean
until it formed the heavens
the other sinking deep down
turbid and turbulent
until it solidified into the earth
even bigger than the entire universe
his mind in itself can create
a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven
just as his first manifesto
still echoes from soul to soul:
there is neither god, nor heaven
i am god and i am heaven
let there be a lightway, and here i come!
gua b: The Lake
soon after Pan Gu put
the universe in order
there were more than one
thousand thunders
exploded as though in
a single big blast
triggering a super- scaled
skyquake
whose tremendous tremors
traveled
along the ever darkening
lightning
that created cracks and
crevices
across the boundless vault
of the heavens
her newborns striving hard but hopeless to survive
the flood, the drought as well as the famine
Nuwa, the gracious mother of the human race
to whom power had been an eternal joy
ceased changing her forms and shapes
starting to rescue her young children
from the danger of being swallowed by death
without getting a chance to grow on their own
day in and day out
not knowing what was tiring
she filled, smoothed and ironed
every gap that needed to be treated
with the soft five-colored stones
she had defined and refined
in her first alchemist’s furnace
until the whole firmament was fully mended
gua c: The
Clinging
in the south dominates Yan Di the Great
in the north rules Huang Di the Mighty
they are both Nuwa’s worthy offspring
but they never brother each other
followed by deities and humans alike
they fight fiercely and formidably
for women, for wealth or for war’s sake
the biggest battle breaks
out in Banchuan
metal scales agape with
burning cold
chain mail glitters over
death’s shadows
banners fluttering against
loud cries
as thick and dark clouds keep
whelming
the whole city seems ready
to collapse
even night is so much scared
to death
it hides itself in an
unseen corner
for a thousand long days and nights
the whole universe holds its breath
while watching the all decisive dual
between the two heavenly rivals
like tsunamis meeting at the horizon
not a single drop of blood is shed in disgrace
until most are fallen forever in the fields
or too exhausted to return to the heavens
gua d: The Thunder
to revenge on his captain’s shame
of defeat
chi You stages an
all-front or total war
by summoning every
wind above earth
retrieving every rain under
the sky
and enrolling each fighter of ferocity
like thousands of wild
mammoths of horror
stampeding at an
unheard thunder
against the defence line
of Huang Di
to meet Chi’s challenge Huang
Di dispatches
Yin Long his most valiant and
capable general
who never holds a weapon in
his handsome hands
but on the wall of his
courageous mind
hangs a sword that can
break from its case
readily leap forward like
a flying dragon
to cut off the head of
an arch-enemy
even it is more than one
hundred zhang away
seeing Yin Long’s legions fail to curb
the sweeping storms manipulated by Chi You
Ba the most talented and beautiful princess
offers to join in the half-fought battle
by stilling each violent wind and rain
to help destroy the most destructive forces
despite the puzzled eye of those who see her:
who is among us this extraordinary fair warrior?
gua e: The
Receptive
the greatest rebel
of all time
was not born to
be a rebel
but wherever there
is oppression
there will be a
timely rebellion
this is a
universal truth
although it never has been
hand-written
like the law formulated for
every action
there is an equal opposite
reaction
the door for dogs and pigs is
widely open
while the gate for humans is
tightly closed
a loud voice is calling outside
the prison
come out, come out, i
will give you freedom
Xin Tian fondly desires
freedom
but he knows it all
too well
how can a human bod y crawl his way
out of the desperate door for
animals?
his mind can never be slaved
nor can his will be
walled
Xin Tian has to
be beheaded
but the moment his
head chopped off
he restarts to wave with
wonders
his brave axe and
unbending shield
trying to see with
his nipples
and roaring with
his naval instead
gua f: The
Mountain
just like any other normal bird
jing Wei has a beak sharp and hard
with which to peck around on the ground
and pursue her dream dropped while flying
she has a pair of wings of heavenly hope
plumed with feathers of despair
that empower her to fly long distance
and low enough to her father’s kingdom
but unlike any other bird
on earth
her calls and songs are
her own name
who used to
take a lonely walk
along a less trodden trail in
the woods
until on a hot and humid
summer day
she ventured to swim in
the East Sea
without a companion in
her private quest
and never returned to
the palace of Yan Di
ever since the rebirth she
secured
of the foamy peak of
a huge wave
Jing Wei has been fully
engaged
in filling the vast and
violent sea
with fresh twigs and
stones
she collects and transports from
Mount West
one at a time with
her lonely beak
although it seems simple
but impossible
gua g: The
Dangerous
out of nowhere out
of everywhere
torrents of rain all
fall together
lakes overturn and
rivers overflow
mountains collapse in
muddy nightmares
as young and old fight against
hunger
humans and animals duel with
plagues
the whole world seems to
be doomed
to perish in
a single fierce flood
to tame the rivers and watercourses
Guen steals a seed of xi soil from heaven
but long before he can accomplish his task
Guen is killed at Tian Di’s heavenly order
and his body thrown in the wildness
where it refuses to decay for three years
until a yellow dragon is begotten
leaping out of his belly cut widely open
Yu quickly grows to
be Guen’s great son
for he never forgets his
father’s behest
even though he has no
magic xi soil
nor any help from
high above heaven
he gulps down all
the dark clouds
sucks up all
the torrential rains
chains every stream running
mad
to free the land from
the flood’s grips
gua h: The Wind
far beyond the vast east sea
Xi He gives birth to ten suns
playing happily in the heavens
like so many wantons who never stop
chasing one another unawares
their faces getting dirtier and dirtier
until summoned by their dear mother
bathing them in the depths of Sweet Pond
at an unseen moment of glaring sot
all the ten sons seem t turn wild
like mad fires sending out more heat than light
burning every green leaf in the field
when Hou Yi has to hold high
his red bow and white arrows
and shoot down the suns up to nine
leaving just one as Xi He’s only son
no one is sure what
Kua Fu is up to
who never ceases seeking
the traveling sun
in an endless and
tireless chase
from his comfort home near
the Wei River
to the Yellow River flowing down
from heaven
whose water fails to
quench his thirst
to the wasteland beyond
the North Sea
where he means to
stand to fall forever
*As many literary scholars
have noted, Chinese literature has no epic in the western sense of the
term. Considering this fact, my 'ballad of bagua: a mini epic' is not
only highly experimental in form -- I used the most ancient Chinese folk form
of 'bagua' or eight trigrams (in a slightly modified manner), but also very
ambitious in content, for I tried to write the most ancient Chinese myths into
a poetic narrative. To my best knowledge, this is the very first attempt in any
language, since no poet has ever done so even in the Chinese language.
Nine Detours of the Yellow
River
you are unaware of your obscure sources
but you are explicitly sure of the vast sea
as
your final destination
you always
frown with your brownish wrinkles
but you
prefer a nonprofessional smile on your face
your
only luggage of life
all
your teeth have been lost or pulled out
but
you keep licking the muddy banks with your heart
despite
your dreams forged
your song
is no more than a foam of silence
but you struggle hard to remain afloat on the sea of noise
beyond
the borderline of heaven
your love for the loess plateau often overturns and
overflows
but you
have never flooded the valley of the dragon's mind
since
confucius's times
your course
ahead is crowded with holes and crevices
but
you will deliver your promises to every unevenness
instead
of promising the deliveries only
you
occupy an enormously tiny place of the world
but you
feed all the hopes and wishes of those
with
thirsty mouths stranded ashore
you flow
down from the sky created by yourself
but you hope to avoid falling on the broken floor
of
your own church
you may be tortured or burned to steam
but you will eventually find your impossible way
to
the sea of blue sky
The Confession of A
Calendar
it all
began with an animal race Emperor Jade called to amuse himself and his earthly
subjects...
Rat
yes, i admit betraying the cat as my only close friend
but i won the race, with my head rather than my legs
Ox
to honor my contract with the yellow sun
i eat green grass, yet give red meat to man
Tiger
as the only feared king of the thick jungle
i am afraid and tired of my own timidness
Rabbit
with my cagey ears held so high
i will not miss a sound of peace
Dragon
although my portraits hung lively above the clouds
no human eyes have ever seen my authentic being
Snake
the moment i sloughed off my old slim self
i forgot ever seducing any manhood in heaven
Horse
my body looks more masculine than a strong man
and my heart feels more feminine than a tender girl
Goat
when i bleat towards the passers-by
i never mean to speak in an other voice
Monkey
each time i try to find any lice in the corner of my mind
i act like the humans outside the fence with barbed wire
Rooster
with my wings plumed with the feathers of night
i can not fly but to crow loudly towards dawn
Dog
given my canine camaraderie and pack mentality
i feel at home before, among or behind soldiers
Pig
i spend all my lifetime wisely
to guard this single moment
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