Chinese Chimes: Science or Superstition: The Ancient Theory of the Five Elements Accounts for Us All

 

1 Metal (born in a year ending in 0 or 1)

-helps water but hinders wood; helped by earth but hindered by fire

he used to be totally dull-colored

because he came from the earth’s inside

now he has become a super-conductor

for cold words, hot pictures and light itself

            all being transmitted through his throat

 

2 Water (born in a year ending in 2 or 3)

-helps wood but hinders fire; helped by metal but hindered by earth

with her transparent tenderness

coded with colorless violence

she is always ready to support

or sink the powerful boat

                        sailing south

 

3 Wood (born in a year ending 4 or 5)

-helps fire but hinders earth; helped by water but hindered by metal

rings in rings have been opened or broken

like echoes that roll from home to home

each containing fragments of green

trying to tell their tales

                  from the forest’s depths

 

4 Fire (born in a year ending 6 or 7)

-helps earth but hinders metal; helped by wood but hindered by water

your soft power bursting from your ribcage

as enthusiastic as a phoenix is supposed to be

when you fly your lipless kisses

you reach out your hearts

                        until they are all broken

 

5 Earth (born in a year ending in 8 or 9)

-helps metal but hinders water; helped by fire but hindered by wood

I think not; therefore, I am not

what I am, but I have a color

the skin my heart wears inside out

tattooed intricately

            with footprints of history

 

 

 

Monolines

 

1. upon their departure, one umbrella walks into the rain as the other out of it

2. the most violent storm starts with a tiny breath of still air

3. death is a stage curtain weaved with the fabric of lead

4. in the geared throat of the clock blocks a sharp bone of hope

5. only still waters can mirror the moon and stars

6. my humble job is to find a cure for a little dying word

7. the kissing lips of seawater are chapped with thirst for land

8. when tightly drawn, a rein of restraint looks more like a lash mark of slavery

9. spring is charming because of the few traces of filth and mire after the snow

10. the ground retains all the sound and fury of the dust

11. the pleasant views in heaven are the same as the painful sights in hell

12. like a squatting grass, a moving earthworm is also watching our world

13. over our heads is the day’s thick ink rather than the night’s bitter juice that the sun sprays

14. every leaf facing the sun is shinier and smoother than its reverse side 

15. my child is a fish swimming out of my vein and trying to join the ocean of a mother’s womb

16. which hits the target successfully when two missiles meet head on in the open space?

17. for all the deep wrinkles on its face and body, the walnut cherishes a rich and ripe brain

18. the bird flies as high as heaven, but it has to return to the earth to make a nest


 

Changming Yuan authored three books in China before moving to Canada. With a PhD in English, Yuan currently works in Vancouver and has had nearly 100 poems appearing or forthcoming in the literary press including Byline, Chaffin, Dalhousie Review (CA), The London Magazine (UK), Porcupine, Private(IT), and Sentence. Email:yuans@shaw.ca