Gao An


POEMS REVISED FROM AN OLD NOTEBOOK


LET US LIVE THIS DAY

Where do we go
To find a place apart?
Silver string of a 
Violin
Two cats snug
Beneath the 
Twilight where they sleep.

Was it hard
Everyday?
Time passes
You practice

Patience: how not to dwell.
Feel the tension 
Of air beneath
Blue lightning.

We desire to wander—
To see the glassy sheen
Of a December when
We remembered what 
Love was... Were you?



PINE GROVE HAIKU 09.24.2022

1.)
First days of fall.
Nothing mattered 
But 
A gratitude for
All that was
& all that couldn’t be.

2.)
Joys of yesterday
Sweet quietude of now.
No one ‘ll tell me
What to do today.

3.)
What matter if yr bones 
Ache a bit as summer turns
To fall & a mother
Turns to her child?

4.)
The poet wanders along 
A road.
He walks alongside thought
& thought walks 
Alongside the clouds.

5.)
Standing by the pine grove
Stately pines stand proud.
Yr hand moves fast or slow
But who could tell the difference?



NOTEBOOK POEM #11

Just listen Sailor: loosen up yr
Shoulders. Take in 
One deep breath
Now take another

Look directly up to the
Highest point
& do it again.
You’ll find yr beginning 
To feel a little lighter.

The taste of oxygen 
You haven’t tasted
In a while. Or 
Was it the scent?

(Of oxygen I mean
Of course.)
But along w it comes
A memory of youth

First crisp rustle
Of an autumn leaf.
But you forgot 
One thing—to relax!

Gao An is an interpreter of signs & Poli-sci relations. Born in Harbin, China, he is skilled in a handful of Kung-fu styles & is a respected member of the American & South Korean Hip Hop communities. First & foremost, he is a poet—a passionate lover afterwards.

 
 

previous page     contents     next page