Wild Court

An international poetry journal based in the English Department of King’s College London

Two poems by Yuan Changming

 
 

    I vs 我: Another Bilinguacultural Poem

 

The first person singular pronoun, or this very
Writing subject in English is I , an only-letter
Word, standing straight like a pole, always
Capitalized, but in Chinese, it is written with
Lucky seven strokes as 我 , with at least 108
Variations, all of which can be the object case
At the same time.
                                   Originally, it’s formed from
The character 找, meaning ‘pursuing’, with one
Stroke added on the top, which may well stand for
Anything you would like to have, such as money
Power, fame, sex, food, or nothing if you prove
Yourself to be a Buddhist practitioner inside out

 
 

    Connotations of the Chinese Character 人/Human

 

Since I am a direct descendant of Homo Erectus, let me
Stand straight as a 人/human , rather than kneel down

When two humans walk side by side, why to coerce one
Into obeying the other like a slave fated to 从/follow?

Since three humans can live together, do we really need
A leader or ruler on top of us all as a 众/group?

 


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