You cut meat with sharp knives
We poke grasses with bamboo sticks
You punch others with hard fists
We dance around you with taichi gestures
Your men fuck around everywhere outside your households
Our women lay babies right in your living rooms
You colonize every city with an English syntax
We decorate each street with Chinese signboards
You deploy aircraft carriers near our waters and coasts
We marry girls to your princes and paupers
You enjoy setting fires and blowing winds along our long walls
We have Chinese stomachs to digest all insults and injuries
You try every way to overthrow our government
We sell every artifact to help your people survive
You borrow money from us to build more weapons
We work hard to make more money for your banks
Questions and Answers
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Is there a specific moment that inspired you to pursue poetry?
When I begin to be haunted by a poetry idea
How/where do you find inspiration today?
From an inspiring read, thought or experience
Do you use any resources that a young poet would find useful (e.g. books, films, art, websites, etc.)?
New Pages at www.newpages.com; Poets and Writers at www.pw.org
As a published writer, what are your tips or words of motivation for the aspiring poet?
Whenever inspired, write it down, even if it’s only one line or just an idea-note.
What inspired or motivated you to write this poem?
Fascinated by the idea of quantum entanglement, I thought of writing a poem ironically in a social setting.
What poetic techniques did you use in this poem? How much attention do you pay to form and metre?
I was more concerned with the content than with the form, though I did try to use such devices as juxtaposition, consonance, assonance, metaphors, etc. as well as the (mocking) form of ‘heroic couplet’.
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