Chen-ou Liu Poems

a fork in the road...
she opens the map
while I read GPS
...

winter light
I send my ex the link
to List of Winners
...

behind my back
they whisper 'slanted eyes...'
in a dream
I unzip my skin,
...

If you don't stand for something you will fall for anything. Malcolm X

Men and women, the young and old, line up in the early-morning darkness at a newsstand, waiting to buy the first issue of Charlie Hebdo since the terrorist attacks. On its new cover, the bearded Prophet sheds a single tear and holds up a sign saying, "I am Charlie." Above the cartoon on a green background is the headline, "All is forgiven."
...

A Haiku Sequence


half moon rising...
...

first tanka written from the perspective of a deceased person


a ghost, I stand
...

that morning
we shared soybean milk
and Chinese fried dough...
facing the attic window
...

black coffee
and Chinese fried dough..
in my mouth
a foreign tongue
...