- From “Every Woman Is Her Own Chimera”A suite for Adrienne Rich
Every woman is her own chimera Today she is laughing with Julio Tonight she is dancing with Coolio
How long can happiness last? For a slow brief afternoon My head on the thigh of a Sequoia Reading Wang Wei
Butterfly in mouth But don’t bite down Whose life is it anyway? She born of chrysalis and shit Or she born of woman and pain?
Mei Ling brings a wounded poem Crying, “Please, mommy, mommy fix it.” You wipe the tears from her cheeks Then glue a gnat’s torn wing [End Page 23]
The sand dab flicks her tail The tears of the wombat are green Kiss me against the last hydrangea Comrades, we are not yet free
O sunlit bourrée of doves O moonlit cantata of red ribbon Let’s drum, girls, let’s ululate, let’s praise The White-haired Maiden
The Blackhawk scats vilip vilip vilip The Humvee murmurs surruu surruu Jackdaws boogie-down flip-flap flip-flap Marvin sighing mercy mercy mercy
All I want is love My heart my soul my vulva Yowl love love love
Look at him preen at the mirror This aging retro-sexual Combing, combing his cowlick In search of a perfect syllable
Everybody’s pregnant today Even my cousin Louie [End Page 24] But cousin Louie is a man Yes, everybody’s pregnant today Even my cousin Louie
Ax is chopping down Tree Tree begs Ax to stop Your handle is made of wood We are born from the same mother
A pink horse is not a horse A pink horse is not a horse A pink horse is not a horse A pink horse is not a horse
They will shave your head Send you to the colonies A brown man’s musket Will shoot you dead He must defend his dignity
Do not do not believe in eternity
Poke me with an idle chopstick I am mum as a flayed ebi Bored with judgment and hate And tired of pity [End Page 25]
We must not be silenced Yet We are Silenced Brush returning to V O I D
It’s not that you are rare Nor are you extraordinary
O lone wren sobbing on the bodhi tree You are simple and sincere
Marilyn Chin’s books of poems include Rhapsody in Plain Yellow (Norton), The Phoenix Gone, The Terrace Empty (Milkweed), and Dwarf Bamboo. Her new book of tales is called Revenge of the Mooncake Vixen and was published by Norton in 2009. She has won numerous awards, and her work is anthologized widely and taught all over the world.