Five Poems
by Changming Yuan
Bird vs Wind
The bird strives to catch
The swirl, but it is so strong
It catches the bird instead
Here in This … Antlike Moment
Here … in this … antlike moment
Arise … my spirits
Illuminating… my own shadow
They’re up… against the dark cloud
Ready to join… in a heavy storm
Shooting… like… a thunder
Now I see… the unlimited sky
Besides …the cracking light
Now …I know…… my ………fate
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
(for Helena Qi Hong)
Your inner being is so full of sunlight
Every flower that catches sight of you
Begins to bloom against the season
Just as each face that turns towards you
Bursts into a smile when you pass by
Sound of Fury
In this vast
Valley full
Of red dust
Each sound
Is an echo
Of a protest
Or a warning
East vs West: a Synoptic Cultural Comparison (2)
1/Philosophy/Ancients
Greek philosophers focused on the relationship
Between man & nature as they walked & debated
While Chinese thinkers were concerned mainly
About how a human being got along with another
2/Language/Inflections
English pays much heed to the formal features of .Verbs/actions, besides its distinction between sex
Cases & numbers of pronouns, while Chinese has
Always remained fixed within its square shape
3/Painting/Traditions
Western painting depends on a single perspective
As much as chiaroscuro to achieve verisimilitude
While Chinese painting is an artistic expression of
Impressions that never have to imitate the reality
Footnote
Westerners keep sharpening their tools to attain .Happiness (through science, or by using power)
While Chinese try to stay with it like a Daoist
BIO: Yuan Changming grew up in an isolated village, started to learn the English alphabet in Shanghai at age nineteen and published monographs on translation before leaving China. With a Canadian PhD in English, Yuan currently lives in Vancouver, where he co-edits Poetry Pacific with Allen Yuan. His writing credits include 16 solo chapbooks, 12 Pushcart nominations for poetry and 3 for fiction besides appearances in Best of Canadian Poetry (2009, 2011, 2014), The Best of the Best Canadian Poetry (2008-17), BestNewPoemsOnline and 2149 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. Socials: https://yuanspoetry.blogspot.com/; https://poetrypacific.blogspot.com/