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The Meaning of Evolution beyond a Biology Textbook
More advanced in evolution
Than their human masters are chickens
As they outnumber the stars in the whole
Universe, and occupy every corner of
The entire planet, but as in-dividuals
No chicken can fly higher than a low
Fence, make love within its confinement
Or live together with its children. The only
Thing they do besides laying eggs and growing
Meat is standing there, day and night, as if
Meditating about the meaning of evolution
First Story, First Village, Learned from History
Close …to Karacadag in Turkey… where
Wheat first …became… human-grown
Gobekli Tepe …was built …by crowds of
Hunters …and gatherers …more than
Ten thousand …years ago to… honour (?)
What …they hoped to tell and …share:
This is …the opening …chapter of the story
(Or inter-subjective… reality) we …have
Created, and …this is the first …village where
We have …domesticated (or are to …be
Domesticated by) an …agricultural …plant
Reading after the Animal Farm
A hen party is held
Around a sitting duck
While there is a bull meeting
Where you can see the elephant
Getting the goose when it tries to tell
The difference between the sheep and the goats
Farther away, a black snake falls down
Neither fish, flesh nor fowl
Smelling a rat somewhere
As you are being showed the lions
Ready to take the bull by the horns
Until the cows come home
While learning about birds and bees
I feel ants in my pants
The cat’s got my tongue
Hey, I do not mean to chicken out
Or clam up on these dog days
Rather, I would try to be an eager beaver
Hold my horses
When I have a cow
That’s what a little bird told me
About how they made a beeline for
Pigging out
Before it rains dogs and cats
Campus Elegy to the Great Auk
Eldey Island. 3 July 1844. Two Iceland fishermen
Caught and killed two birds, while a third used
His boots to tread their half-hatched egg into pieces
That’s the inhuman end of a whole species used to be
Called Penguin. The feathered couple was much
More loyal to each other than any human marriage
Their kind had survived last ice age, flying gracefully
Everywhere, in particular along Newfoundland coasts
Helping sailors to escape from dangers, but now they
Are totally forgotten, except in a little poem like this
On Graduation: Lesson to George and Allen
The most important tip for you, Sons
Is to forget all the tips any father
Any book, any computer can give you
About this world, but just remember
This: the moment you step
Out of the boundary of our little home
You will have to remain, always
On high alert, even while dreaming
What you will trudge across is a snakeland, where
There is as much sunshine, fresh air
As many blue skies, green leaves
Fragrant flowers, handsome
Human figures, as cobras, mambas
Taipans, adders, kraits and vipers
Life is a Snakeland
Probably in one of your dreams
Probably at a relocated zoo
Probably on a less trodden trail
Probably between two words
Probably behind the shadow of an arrow
Probably before making a u-turn
Probably after entering an office
Probably from a moving picture
Probably under the morning glows
Probably beyond the autumn lake
Probably near the melodies of spring birds
You may be bitten by a snake
Poisonous or otherwise, and
Since then, you would be
Strangled to a slow death
Like me or her
Let Us Learn
Let us learn, learn to
Let go of anger
Let go of the wheel
Let go of the rope
Let go of the hand
Let go of the bygones
Let go of the thought
Let go of the bird
Let go of the fight
Let go of the fear
Let go of the money
Let go of this line
Yuan Changming grew up in an isolated village, started to learn the English alphabet in Shanghai at age 19 and published monoragpohs on translation before leaving China. With a Canadian PhD in English, Yuan edits Poetry Pacific with Allen Yuan in Vancouver. Credits include 12 Pushcart nominations for poetry and 2 for fiction as well as 16 chapbooks and appearances in Best of the Best Canadian Poetry (2008-17), among 2,019 others across 49 countries. A poetry judge for Canada's 44th National Magazine Awards, Yuan began to write and publish fiction in 2022, with his first (hybrid) novel Bamakoola: Paradise Regained forthcoming in 2025.
Than their human masters are chickens
As they outnumber the stars in the whole
Universe, and occupy every corner of
The entire planet, but as in-dividuals
No chicken can fly higher than a low
Fence, make love within its confinement
Or live together with its children. The only
Thing they do besides laying eggs and growing
Meat is standing there, day and night, as if
Meditating about the meaning of evolution
First Story, First Village, Learned from History
Close …to Karacadag in Turkey… where
Wheat first …became… human-grown
Gobekli Tepe …was built …by crowds of
Hunters …and gatherers …more than
Ten thousand …years ago to… honour (?)
What …they hoped to tell and …share:
This is …the opening …chapter of the story
(Or inter-subjective… reality) we …have
Created, and …this is the first …village where
We have …domesticated (or are to …be
Domesticated by) an …agricultural …plant
Reading after the Animal Farm
A hen party is held
Around a sitting duck
While there is a bull meeting
Where you can see the elephant
Getting the goose when it tries to tell
The difference between the sheep and the goats
Farther away, a black snake falls down
Neither fish, flesh nor fowl
Smelling a rat somewhere
As you are being showed the lions
Ready to take the bull by the horns
Until the cows come home
While learning about birds and bees
I feel ants in my pants
The cat’s got my tongue
Hey, I do not mean to chicken out
Or clam up on these dog days
Rather, I would try to be an eager beaver
Hold my horses
When I have a cow
That’s what a little bird told me
About how they made a beeline for
Pigging out
Before it rains dogs and cats
Campus Elegy to the Great Auk
Eldey Island. 3 July 1844. Two Iceland fishermen
Caught and killed two birds, while a third used
His boots to tread their half-hatched egg into pieces
That’s the inhuman end of a whole species used to be
Called Penguin. The feathered couple was much
More loyal to each other than any human marriage
Their kind had survived last ice age, flying gracefully
Everywhere, in particular along Newfoundland coasts
Helping sailors to escape from dangers, but now they
Are totally forgotten, except in a little poem like this
On Graduation: Lesson to George and Allen
The most important tip for you, Sons
Is to forget all the tips any father
Any book, any computer can give you
About this world, but just remember
This: the moment you step
Out of the boundary of our little home
You will have to remain, always
On high alert, even while dreaming
What you will trudge across is a snakeland, where
There is as much sunshine, fresh air
As many blue skies, green leaves
Fragrant flowers, handsome
Human figures, as cobras, mambas
Taipans, adders, kraits and vipers
Life is a Snakeland
Probably in one of your dreams
Probably at a relocated zoo
Probably on a less trodden trail
Probably between two words
Probably behind the shadow of an arrow
Probably before making a u-turn
Probably after entering an office
Probably from a moving picture
Probably under the morning glows
Probably beyond the autumn lake
Probably near the melodies of spring birds
You may be bitten by a snake
Poisonous or otherwise, and
Since then, you would be
Strangled to a slow death
Like me or her
Let Us Learn
Let us learn, learn to
Let go of anger
Let go of the wheel
Let go of the rope
Let go of the hand
Let go of the bygones
Let go of the thought
Let go of the bird
Let go of the fight
Let go of the fear
Let go of the money
Let go of this line
Yuan Changming grew up in an isolated village, started to learn the English alphabet in Shanghai at age 19 and published monoragpohs on translation before leaving China. With a Canadian PhD in English, Yuan edits Poetry Pacific with Allen Yuan in Vancouver. Credits include 12 Pushcart nominations for poetry and 2 for fiction as well as 16 chapbooks and appearances in Best of the Best Canadian Poetry (2008-17), among 2,019 others across 49 countries. A poetry judge for Canada's 44th National Magazine Awards, Yuan began to write and publish fiction in 2022, with his first (hybrid) novel Bamakoola: Paradise Regained forthcoming in 2025.
