The Present Interior
By Yuan Changmin

 

For now let’s forget all troubles & miseries
In this world of red dust, forsake our family &
Friends alike, forgive each & every other’s debts

 

& wrongdoings as well as our own sins; for now
Let’s not get stuck to our pasts or try squeezing
Into our futures, foreseeable or otherwise

 

Where we may easily become too lost in
Character as in imagination; for now, just
Let it be, including everything & everybody

 

While the little cloud above the horizon drifts
Along, & the tiny fish keeps bubbling on & off
In the creek; for now let’s stop & separate

 

Our selfhoods from our minds, observe how
They are making whims & wishes, & watch
How they become conditioned by concepts &

 

Constructs; for now let’s stay put as the hand-
Written book of history is being torn off
Page by page, until we find our innermost

 

Being in the heart of our soul at a crowded
Corner; & let’s take off our masks, identities
Even consciousnesses as if we were peeling off

 

An onion, though we may find nothing for now

 

Yuan Changming from Canana edits Poetry Pacific with Allen Yuan in Vancouver. Credits include 12 Pushcart nominations for poetry and 2 for fiction besides appearances in Best of the Best Canadian Poetry (2008-17), Best New Poems Online and 2089 other literary outlets worldwide. A poetry judge for Canada's 2021 National Magazine Awards, Yuan began writing and publishing fiction in 2022.