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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
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
