Better not to end a sentence with a prep like ‘of ’
I don’t remember when this rule I learned of
But since then I have become keenly aware of
The need to pay close attention to the grammar of
Every sentence I write in English, a language of
Choice over birth, which I did not begin until at age of
Nineteen to learn among heavily accented versions of
Mandarin practised on a Shanghai campus, a city of
Romantic or rhapsodic adventures. Yes, by definition of
Preposition, it is a function word expressing a relationship of
A name with another in most cases, & as the most common of
All preps, of denotes origin or cause with the shape of
O like a vagina to f— into, the two letters as the theme of
This poem, with many other political concerns or lack thereof
Questions and Answers
Is there a specific moment that inspired you to pursue poetry?
Yes. While climbing the mountain alone behind a hotel during my only family trip (to Banff) in early August 2004, I could not help crying over the way I had degraded myself into a money-making machine. To articulate this choking feeling, I found a forlorn pen and a piece of waste paper by the trail and wrote my first poem in English after immigrating to Canada. Since then, I have written (and even probably published) more than two thousand poems.
How/where do you find inspiration today?
Mostly from my reading and meditating experience.
What inspired or motivated you to write this poem?
The very word ‘pre posit ion.’ Actually, I have written quite a number of poems based on a single intriguing and inspiring word.
What did you find particularly challenging in writing this poem?
Something not really so much challenging as particular: I tried to end every line with ‘of’ to suggest endless possibilities of associations with this ‘pre position’.