Changming Yuan, five-time Pushcart nominee and author of Chansons of a Chinaman (2009) and Landscaping (2013), holds a PhD in English and tutors in Vancouver, where he co-publishes Poetry Pacific with Allen Qing Yuan (Submissions welcome at editors.pp@gmail.com). Recently interviewed by [PANK], Yuan has had poetry appear in 719 journals/anthologies across twenty-seven countries, including Asia Literary Review, Barrow Street, Best Canadian Poetry, BestNewPoemsOnline, London Magazine, and Threepenny Review.
More like a roman mace aimed
Right at a human head
Than like a chinese brushpen
Dripping black ink when held straight up
You were born with joy, but have grown
To be the vaguest bang in today’s world:
Without a written explanation, or a
Tangible situation, no one knows if you
signal warning, surprise, anger, hatred
Happiness, love? yes, or no?
Indeed, no one can tell when the emotion is
The strongest, when the mark stands
Totally on its own, or beside another letter