Found Poems --thanks to Leonard Cohen * so long, Marianne in February sunset Cohen dances to the end * take this waltz everyone knows first we take Manhattan * the slow thaw Lake Ontario echoes a thousand kisses deep * closing time tower of song happens to the heart * birds on the wire waiting for the miracle coming back to you * here it is the presence of you alive in the air In Duplicate "Beware of things in duplicate" - Dana Gioia These days I read for signs: on a table, a set of blue china, at the window, a spider’s web… Over my head, a floating cloud, shape hard to name, then a sudden gust– hot and salty– from the east or west? I sleepwalk in a maze. Nothing is lost. The book I hold in red and gold conceals blue: Do not expect that you have left threads in others’ dreams. The maze disguises its green exit. Everything I hold– so small– still hurts when not returned; I wish to duplicate it: keys, hands, hearts, and love… For if a mistake is made, then I, at least, have another to hold. first appeared in Literary Review of Canada march,2017 Landlord The house prices here have been hiked up. Some blame the rich from China— So many flooding in, and tossing cash for mansions: cheap, mouths wide open. In China, they “buy” an estate but don’t own it; in the contract— “70 years right to use”. Hard to argue— “buy” or “bestow” sealed in a black box, who really knows? And the landlord: The Party or The People? If you drill down, there is always an endless hole— unpleasant, unwanted. Now many possess mansions here— huge land, vast space in this foreign country, becoming a grand landlord. This early winter, hail drums; with each storm, it mocks: everywhere we go we are still on the Planet; we rent this earth, and eventually pay for life. note: lines in italics are from “Minute” by Tammy Ho Lai-Ming
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Anna Yin was Mississauga’s Inaugural Poet Laureate (2015-2017) and has authored five collections of poetry and one collection of translations: Mirrors and Windows (Guernica Editions) in 2021. Anna won the 2005 Ted Plantos Memorial Award, two MARTYs, two scholarships from USA and three grants from Ontario Arts Council etc. Her poems/translations have appeared at Queen’s Quarterly, ARC Poetry, New York Times, China Daily, CBC Radio, Literary Review of Canada etc. She has designed and hosted various Poetry Alive workshops with multimedia since 2011 and they have been well received in classes in person and online. Her website: https://annapoetry.com
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