Carefully Written

Based on feedback from my writers group (Rough Writers) I'm going to start putting my notes following the poem rather than before. This gives readers a chance to experience the poem without "spoilers" and first get an impression, then educate as needed. Additionally, they challenged me to break with the tight word-for-word translation structure and add in English words for readability. Let me know if you agree. 


Ye Jingcao & Wu Mingming's 10th wedding anniversary 
1977 late spring end of May

Ten years as a couple like resplendent (jing) embroidery
Your calm, peaceful approach to living is high and surpassing (cao)
An entire lifespan walking toward the bright (ming) way
Sun moon (ming) sky heart shines like translucent clouds

- When writing a poem for a couple, it's standard to use their names' characters
- sun moon are the same words Chinese use for day month and when combined into one character is the word for bright (ming). sun moon conveys the summation of time.
- sky heart conveys the whole aspect of being, entirety of a person
- Jing3 is also my dad's name
- This couple were family friends from Chicago


New Year's First Writing

Misting rain mixed with smoke quietly unfurls the paper
Below many high floors and balconies live 10,000 people
Peachy-luck sayings intent on canceling last season's taboos
Fire crackers' bursting sounds broadcast the old year's riddance 
Sons and daughters laugh and play: neglecting discipline and order
Relatives and friends come and go: using extra mindfulness and care*
My wife asks me to write some words of peace
Try the pen in freestyle font to say red luck

*Some of our friends and relatives were traitors or friends with the enemy. You had to be careful what you said to whom and who you fraternized with.

I don't know what year this was but I selected this poem out of my collection of new years writing.

- peach is a poetic word for the color red
- My mom's family had several New Year's Day rituals, one of which was writing on a strip of red paper, in order starting with my grandfather, then my grandmother, her older brother, herself, and her younger brother: the lunar year's ordinal number, the year's zodiac, first day trying pen, favor (da ji) and prosperity (da li). She thinks this ritual came from my grandmother's family because they were more into celebrating holidays. And they were educated, whereas my grandfather's parents were illiterate, so this practice definitely would not have come from my grandfather's family.
- My mom remembers the Japanese rationed electricity. They were always careful to use as little as possible, turning off lights, etc. But one ritual for New Year's Eve was to leave the lights on all night. Her younger brother loved so much because he was scared of the dark.
- She also told me about the special foods they ate that had good meaning: longan fruit, cake, green peas, dates, and lotus seeds; the table settings they only used this one time of year; their new clothes; and the kids paying honor to their grandfather, their parents, and then the whole family bowing to the four directions, chasing out the old year and welcoming the new year. 
- Jing1 is the word used instead of 'My', which is my grandfather's name, not to be confused with Jing3, my father's name, the number indicate the tone.