The Last of Homers

      

By Yuan Changming

The Last of Homers   All gods returned to Olympus long ago All heroes have recently left for Mabakoola Now even the surviving poets are finally dying out Like yellow-shouldered blackbirds or whooping cranes   As the printed word is replaced by the icon on the screen And the world we used to live in by the virtual reality We intake artificial compounds instead of natural produce We inhale chemical particles rather than pure air Our genes are undertaking a mutation, which are Turning us from humans to e.yahoos. We live to seek Sensual pleasures only like ancient hedonists   No more do we care about truth or good, (perhaps besides beauty) Dying together with the last of Homers are all legislators with Every statesman, doctor, teacher in the traditional sense Of the word; what is left to prosper is physical senses and hard Currency besides showmen while our body evolves into comfort Our mind is degenerating dramatically like our ugly tailbones   Contrasting   Rotting behind vermillion gates are Wasted wine and meat, Du Fu lamented Long ago, while human bodies are frozen To death by the roadside. This gap   Between human beings has always Existed, widening daily since before the Poet’s time until today it’s getting even Wider than between two unknown stars   Rotting now are not the wine and meat only But also the heart and soul, while frozen To death are both human bodies and hopes   Holy Sound   Every Chinese character has one Or more homonyms, except fo for Buddha, which structurally means Non-human, and sen for Buddhist Implying he is no longer a human   Both simply to give the philosopher and His followers a holy significance. Unlike God or Allah, neither of the two words has A homonym, but each is unique in sound   (And spelling) as in English. So, to Be holy is to be unique in sound (or Perhaps to be original in voice?)   Such being the case, whoever can speak or Sing in a unique way is a god in Chinese?    The Worshipping of Nouns   No, no, it’s not nominalism of any kind In the English sense of the word, but A long-held tradition of worshipping Nouns ever since Confucius said if the name Is not proper, the speech will not go right   Yes, humanity, justice, etiquette, wisdom Faith, then loyalty, filial piety, chastity Righteousness …like a barbaric atheist We believe in each and every one of such Holy nouns, though we seldom practice them As they uphold democracy, freedom, equality Independence, fraternity, and human rights   However, this does not mean we all Worship nouns only for nouns’ sake   Westernization of Chinese Civilization   First, the basic words we used to speak Or think in our mother tongue have Now become multi-syllabled rather Than single-syllabled in the past   Then, we read and write from left to right Instead of the other way around, and More important, we depend far more    On passive voice and conjunctions in syntax Than ever in history, among other things In addition, we now wear suits other than gowns   We cut hair rather than keep it in a pigtail So, what else shall we change to embrace Modernization or Americanization?   Bio: Yuan Changming co-edits Poetry Pacific with Allen Yuan. Writing credits include 16 chapbooks, 12 Pushcart nominations for poetry and 3 for fiction besides appearances in Best of the Best Canadian Poetry (2008-17), BestNewPoemsOnline and 2129 other publications across 51 countries. A poetry judge for Canada's 44th National Magazine Awards, Yuan began writing and publishing fiction in 2022. His debut novel Detaching, 'silver romance' The Tuner and short story collection Flashbacks are all available at Amazon, his duology Edening due out in 2026.