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?
—
Dreaming
You shouldn’t day-
Dream all the time
Sometimes you can
Dream about the day
But other times you
Must run in the wild
Jumping or stumbling
Simply to day the dream
—
© Yuan Changming
Yuan Changming, an 8-time Pushcart nominee, grew up in rural China, started to learn English at 19 and published several monographs on translation before moving to Canada. Currently tutoring and co-editing Poetry Pacific with Allen Qing Yuan in Vancouver, Changming has poetry appearing in 1029 literary publications across 35 countries, including Best Canadian Poetry, BestNewPoemsOnline, Cincinnati Review and Threepenny Review.
