Join The Party

      

By Changming Yuan

Beat Or Join I can’t beat death, so I will Join it & become part of The unbeatable; I can’t join Life either, but I’ve beat it Though not with my fists But with my spirits. Yes No body can win death, but Everyone can join the winner Tea Party Each time I gather with one or two old friends From history or literature for a couple of tea, I Set my clock about half an hour later Than all the time devices in the outside world Just to make us a group somewhat out of fashion So we can enjoy each other’s company in the past Totally unaware of the happenings in the present moment There we are about to sip from my proud enameled teapot When police sirens disturb us, as if To remind us of the crimes and accidents in the street Cannot help wondering: are we not allowed to keep a distance To reflect upon, or to predict the future as posthumous? Class 761, Gathering in Shanghai, 2007 So you are the second one From the middle in the first standing row In a world of black and white Is this the girl squatting in the front Who you might have pursued hard But your pride and prejudice prevented you The tall and handsome guy from a high-class family Who suspected your poverty had made you a thief Before he lost and found his fancy watch in the dorm And your make-do friend is the third one From the left in the second standing row, the nice guy Who had a really hard time passing every single test Wait, there is more to it – Who is the guy that has become the vice president of Citigroup And who is the girl that died a miser-multimillionaire in Seattle last year What’s happened to the character library building behind all of you Did they really convert it into a brilliantly decorated hotel To accommodate your travelling alumni, rich or famous? Behemoth My other self has a stronger presence On the other side of this planet, firmly set In a different time zone, where I could flirt freely With Cheehong, the girl I might well have Pursued, should I not decide to concentrate Upon my teenager ambitions But I am sitting still There among young trees on a hilltop, lost in a mood of Meditating about how the other half of the world Is rotating around the darkness of tomorrow, & How all my past concerns are burning to ashes, one By one, as in a summer forest fire far beyond the skyline Celebrating 42 Years of Separation, Songzi, 2019 Like a wolf dying of thirst That cannot wait to gulp the whole stream You lunged towards her, desperate to know Everything about her in particular. Alas She said, my life experience after we Left the school is as tasteless as plain water But being a veggie now, I drink water only You whispered, as tea is a bit too harsh, coffee Too bitter, while even a small glass of wine Would make your heart beat unbearably too fast Before Returning to Mayuhe, where we were forced To ‘receive re-education from poor peasants’ (During the Cultural Revolution), before asking Qi Hong to dance among the pine trees we Planted, before hiking to the valley to pick up Fresh mushrooms, before holding high our glasses Of life filled with wine, tea or coffee, before singing The song we enjoyed singing the most when We were young & gay, before taking turns To elaborate on our edited resumes, before Our grandchildren ask for yeye or nainai to tell Them new stories about the last revolution It’s high time, after 42 years of separation, to say Farewell to each other, first & foremost, before We retreat from this party, this stage of world While we still can sit straight beside one another Yuan Changming published monographs on translation before leaving China. With a Canadian PhD in English, Yuan currently edits Poetry Pacific with Allen Yuan in Vancouver; credits include ten Pushcart nominations, the Naji Naaman's Literary Prize 2018, Best of the Best Canadian Poetry, BestNewPoemsOnline, Threepenny Review and 1,449 others worldwide. yuan changming @ Poetry Pacific https://poetrypacific.blogspot.ca https://happyyangsheng.blogspot.ca Lotus Image & License: Depositphotos_32738103_s-2015