#complete poem

[prophetic-memory]

Hsüeh T’ao, "Gazing at Spring"

[sorteswhitmanae]

We use you, and do not cast you aside - we plant you permanently within us,

Crossing Brooklyn Ferry

[prophetic-memory]

Mary Oliver, “Of the Empire”

[sorteswhitmanae]

Through the ample open door of the peaceful country barn, A sunlight pasture field with cattle and horses feeding, And haze and vista, and the far horizon fading away.

A Farm Picture

[dawninmygarden]

Childhood is the Kingdom Where Nobody Dies

Poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892- 1950) Childhood is not from birth to a certain age and at a certain age The child is grown, and puts away childish things. Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies. Nobody that matters, that is. Distant relatives of course Die, whom one never has seen or has seen for an hour, And they gave one candy in a pink-and-green stripéd bag, or a jack-knife, And went away, and cannot really be said to have lived at all. And cats die. They lie on the floor and lash their tails, And their reticent fur is suddenly all in motion With fleas that one never knew were there, Polished and brown, knowing all there is to know, Trekking off into the living world. You fetch a shoe-box, but it’s much too small, because she won’t curl up now: So you find a bigger box, and bury her in the yard, and weep. But you do not wake up a month from then, two months A year from then, two years, in the middle of the night And weep, with your knuckles in your mouth, and say Oh, God! Oh, God! Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies that matters, —mothers and fathers don’t die. And if you have said, “For heaven’s sake, must you always be kissing a person?” Or, “I do wish to gracious you’d stop tapping on the window with your thimble!” Tomorrow, or even the day after tomorrow if you’re busy having fun, Is plenty of time to say, “I’m sorry, mother.” To be grown up is to sit at the table with people who have died, who neither listen nor speak; Who do not drink their tea, though they always said Tea was such a comfort. Run down into the cellar and bring up the last jar of raspberries; they are not tempted. Flatter them, ask them what was it they said exactly That time, to the bishop, or to the overseer, or to Mrs. Mason; They are not taken in. Shout at them, get red in the face, rise, Drag them up out of their chairs by their stiff shoulders and shake them and yell at them; They are not startled, they are not even embarrassed; they slide back into their chairs. Your tea is cold now. You drink it standing up, And leave the house.

[satyagraha-thesword-blog]

Bananas by Cindy Ly

Many of you think that bananas is a long curved fruit that grows in clusters and has soft pulpy white flesh and yellow skin when ripe -

But not to my definition.

Most people don’t understand what it means

But to an Asian, like me

When called a banana to an Asian, it is insulting

Why?

So that we can be ashamed of our race

Now what I mean by the term ‘bananas’ is straightforward

It means Asians who think like white people

Asians who live or born in a foreign country

Asians who have a relationship with whites

Asians who are from a Western society

Yellow skin outside, white inside

I hate eating bananas

Because they gives me cramps

But Asians love bananas

Oh they do love bananas

This slang of insult comes those who are not in touch with their own roots

Their roots

Their heritage

Those who are insulted by their own race or nation

Like Americans calling on Red-necks

Like black people calling on Nigger

Sure, we teased Asian stereotypes

Sure, we hang out with white people

Sure, we struggle to speak our Asian languages;

Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Thai

But we are not ashamed and we won’t admit it

It is those AZNs

That is A-Z-N-s

Or retarded Asians we like to call it

Those are the ones that we should accuse

Who claim themselves the Asian pride

But they lack the intelligence

That they bleach their hair, spent time at arcades, listen to hip-hop or do a bit of break dance, talking ghetto and acting like gangsta style

 “Yo! What’s up man?”

“Off da meat rack”

“Word”

What the fuck is that supposed to mean?

But hello? You are a banana as well

You don’t know the meaning of your culture, so why should you be proud of it?

Being Asian is about being traditional, strict and knowing that family is important

Not in doubt that this is the pop Asian culture for AZNS

When I first found out about this, it bothers me sometimes that I am a banana

But I still do what other Asians do

And be the ‘sort-of’ denial stereotypical Asians like they do

I come from a strict family but I am embarrassed of not speaking to my relatives in native Chinese

I eat Chinese food but I don’t eat dogs or cats

I’m not good at maths but I’m good at reading books

I celebrate Chinese New Year, Lunar festival and the Dragon Boat Race but I’m not anti-social

I am polite, passive and quiet. ... Which unfortunately that is true

I don’t play an instrument like the violin or piano but I can do air-drumming. Maybe some air-guitar if I listen to rock

I don’t fight martial arts like kung fu or karate but I watch Bruce Lee’s movies

I am into superstition but I don’t believe that Asian men have small dicks. Although I haven’t seen one.

I am not a bad driver. It’s just that I haven’t got my driver’s licences yet. But I soon will be

And I am not an Asian exotic woman because I don’t sound like “Me so horny. Me love you long time.” Ridiculous

I cannot be forced to be completely Asian

That will be as silly as injecting yellow dye into a banana, hoping that it will turn out to be lemon-yellow inside out

Although it will be kinda gross if you think about it. Especially eating it

But no, it won’t be possible

I am an Australian-Born-Chinese

Or ABC for short

I am proud as an Australian

And I am proud as a Chinese

I am no immigrant

I was born here

Sure, my parents are migrants but they came here for a good life

If my parents did not come here, I wouldn’t be saying this to you

So I don’t care about being called as a banana

I don’t give a shit if those AZNs talk about me not fitting in with them

I am not confused of my cultural identity

I am balanced between what it means to be Asian and what it means to be in a Western society

Through modern and traditional

Because of who I am, no matter what skin colour I’m in

Because of who my family are and where I come from

I was raised as a Asian so I don’t become myself as white

Yeah I talk English very well and think white

But people still see me as Asian so why the hell they see me as white

 I don’t consider myself white both inside and out

I stand here on the Great Wall, holding a book of Confucius on one hand and a nice cold bubble tea on the other and said;

Confucius say: Be honourable of who you are and where you come from. Have dignity and respect of your culture and don’t give a fuck about them calling you banana

So as I say to you all

As I am proud to say:

我是中国人，但是我不是香蕉

I am Chinese, but I am not a banana