Englines

Yuan Changming

Linguistic Leanings: a X-Cultural Poem

2/ Feminism vs Patriarchy

In Chinese, 妇人(woman) is a girl who’s overthrown

A mountain, & 夫人(madam) refers to a human that’s

Broken open the sky

While in English

Woman implies her as the wo of man, & madam is

Nobody but an other representation of male or adam

2/ Getting Along towards the Same End

In Chinese, 朋友，恋人，& 爱人 are all

12-stroked characters, just as their counter-

Parts friend, couple & spouse are 6-lettered

Words in the imperial vocabulary of English

Though they are all underlined with human

Love and loyalty, the former entails twice

As much input or effort of the heart

As the latter to maintain a disparately

Similar humane relationship as a speech act

Body Politics: Left vs Right

1/ Brain

My left brain has everything right

While my right one has nothing left

2/ Heart

My left chamber’s been reserved for someone

Right, yet my right one’s for nobody on the left

3/ Foot

My left foot takes the position for the right

But my right one stands firm against the left

I Miss You; Therefore, I Am

(Another periodic sentence for Qi Hong)

I am thinking of you being awake all the time

I am thinking of you being awake, all the time

I am thinking of you, being awake all the time

I am, thinking of you being awake all the time

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Yuan Changming edits Poetry Pacific with Allen Yuan in Vancouver. Credits include 12 Pushcart nominations & 15 chapbooks, most recently Sinosaure (Redhawk Publications). Besides appearances in Best of the Best Canadian Poetry (2008-17), BestNewPoemsOnline, Poetry Daily and nearly 2,000 other literary outlets worldwide, Yuan served on the poetry jury for Canada's 2021 National Magazine Awards and began writing and publishing fiction in 2022.