5 Poems by Allen Qing Yuan

Full Reception

One bar

We don’t have anything to say

Yet we want to

Two bars

We can’t hear over static

So make the call at home

Three bars

We can message whoever, whenever

But wait for an unknown reply

Four bars

We don’t have anything to say

Yet we want to

Five bars

Full reception, fully connected

Yet we don’t need to talk

Criteria for Respect

Does he go to a big building with a big name regularly?

            +10 points

Does he accumulate over a million pieces of paper a year?

            +10 points

Does he work in downtown and wear a suit?

            +10 points

OR

Does he do what he wants?

            +20 points

Does he love what he does?

            +20 points

Is he good at what he does?

            +20 points

Marked out of 30 points, no bonus marks.

Sure to Be Missed 

Your presence will fall upon me

Like the first rain
      Of spring, and
Everywhere I go
             Is mushroomed
    With its song

Werther's Sorrows Reviewed

1/ 14 Februry 2016

Today, half of the world
Is stained with drops
Of blood coughed
Out of love’s heart

While the other half
Is covered with withered
Leaves of roses
Thrown aside last year    

2/ Growing Skeleton

When all my blood is shed
And my heart fades, my skeleton
Will remain to glisten
In clear darkness

As new flesh and blood grow
And fill in every space in my body
Will you still remember I used to
Have a quite yellowish skin?

Seasonal Entertainment 

i-padding, smartphoning
internetting, key-pressing
listening to heavy metal sounds
rock-n-rolling, taijiing
yogaing, yelling or meditating
mostly living in virtual reality
people have long since stopped
reading poetry or even any books
what kind of poem
could you make out of that?

as people prefer living in virtual reality, they are
tired of poetry, and even the printed word


Bionote

Allen Qing Yuan (born in Vancouver in 1995), author of Traffic Light, is a 2-time Pushcart nominee and one-time Best of the Net nominee. A former co-editor of Poetry Pacific, Allen currently is attending Tsinghua University with Amy as an exchange business student from the University of British Columbia. Since grade 10, Allen has had poetry appear in more than 70 literary publications across 16 countries, which include Cordite Poetry Review, Literary Review of Canada, Poetry Scotland, Shampoo and Spillway.

Allen is also the co-founder of a popular clothing brand Above the Movement. for more, please visit his websites:: www.facebook.com/Above.The.Movement ;  www.abovethemovement.com ; Twitter: @ATMovement