“I’d cleave you in three” —Mao Zedong
Make a house make a roof make a star
a big empty star in no such night
I can take so much black mass
No wind at my side
No wind to carry us across
How an ox carries a child on its back yawning
I lead with good faith, without a compass or
a sparrow to strike dead
the men who stand in our way.
I could will it if I had to (the striking)
But of course I am a peaceful man
I eat my dinner slowly I keep a cricket
I believe in small things
STORY:
A small animal digs a hole in a lettuce field it lives there in the vegetation
I used a shovel to harvest it I could hear the animal turning over in its sleep
it moaned a little
{To read more poems in this series, please purchase Issue 39.1.}
Jane Wong received her MFA from the University of Iowa. Her poems have appeared in places such as CutBank, Mid-American Review, Best New Poets 2012, and The Arcadia Project. She is the recipient of fellowships and scholarships from the US Fulbright Program, the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, and the Fine Arts Work Center.
