Poems

      

By Yuan Changming

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.