poems by Yuan Changming

Tree Betrayal

 

You wish to be a Douglas fir

Tall, straight, almost immortal

But you stand like a Peking willow

Prone to cankers, full of twisted twigs

Worse still, you are not so resistant

As the authentic willow that can bend gracefully

Shake off all its unwanted leaves in autumn

When there is a wind blowing even from nowhere

No matter how much sunshine you receive

During the summer, you have nothing but scars

To show off against winter storms

The scars that you can never shake off

……….

Visualizing

 

Above the water

The swan looks so elegant

Pure and noble

Beneath the surface

Its feet are paddling hard

Like an ugly duck

But invisible as they are

You can also imagine them

Like the wings of a white eagle

The wings that are flapping

Fiercely against currents

Ready to fly into the depth of season

…………………………………….

Dytiscus Larvae: a Natural Tragicomedy 

 

One most ferocious robber in the pond

World, observes a zoologist, is a slim,

Streamlined insect called the Dytiscus larvae:

Lying in ambush on a water grass

He suddenly shoots at lightning speed

To his prey (or anything moving or smelling 

Of ‘animal’ in any way, a fat tadpole, for

Instance), darts underneath it, then quickly

Jerks up his head, grabs it in his jaws

Injects his poisonous glandular secretion into it

Dissolves its entire inside into a liquid soup

And sucks as it swells up first, and then gradually

Shrinks to a limp bundle of skin until it finally falls

From his fatal kiss. Very few animals

According to the observer

Even when starved to death would attack

Let alone eat an equal-sized animal

Of their own species

But the Dytiscus does, just as man does 

Within or without a pond

……………………………………

A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Waste

 

When there is no tomorrow

The happiest place on earth, or

The last place you want to go is

At the heart of the image, where

Between love and madness lies obsession

When you care enough to send the very best

Think big, or think small, for nothing is

Impossible, just as impossible is nothing

Make believe. Save money, live better

Eat fresh. Twist the cap to refreshment and

Reach out to touch someone

When the world zigs, zag

Get N or get out. Expand you mind

Change your world. Fly the friendly sky

Share moments, share life. 

Let your finger do the walking 

Just do it and have it your way 

If you want to impress someone

Put him on your blacklist, as it 

Keeps going and going and going

And make the most of now

Because you’re worth it

See what we mean?

…………………………………………

Soft Medium: A Wishful Whim

 

If, if everyone could

Use love instead of money

As the only medium

Of exchange, who would

Choose to declare bankruptcy

Or rob an old lady right after

She withdraws her hard-saved

Cash? Who would jump 

From a tower or bridge

Because of his recent losses

In the stock market? Who would

Go to bed hungry in the heart of 

Darkness? Who would rent her body

To a male animal? Who would try to

Accumulate riches at the cost of

His conscience or character?

In particular, who would

Trade his soul with the devil?

Indeed, who would refuse 

To exchange love for love?

 ……….

 Yuan Changming, an 8-time Pushcart nominee, is the world’s most widely published poetry author who speaks Mandarin but writes English. Currently, Yuan co-edits Poetry Pacific with Allen Qing Yuan in Vancouver and, since mid-2005, has had poetry appearing  in 1029 literary publications across 34 countries, including Best Canadian Poetry, BestNewPoemsOnline, Cincinnati Review and Threepenny Review.