Lantern Review: A Journal of Asian American Poetry

Jen Y. Cheng

Peas of the Seas

Dodge, dodge the buckeyes Pling pling
Pellets welt scales Do mi mi
Stiffen me tails Mi so so
O the better to net you with,
my dear Re fa fa
Long, long way to swim to the ruta and back
Chug-chug-chug
Wriggle all you might
You've puffered like a real-ma-koi,
carelessly dumped in the swamp of the cemetery

I.N.R.I.

Into the pan your jam-flesh-blood belongs
Your thorny bones will lodge in the throat
We'll scrape the shine from your shimmy
Fry fry fry
Invite elders to suck juices from your head dry

O toxic roe, peas of the seas
年年有餘  Nian nian you yu
Year after year, may there be fish to feed,
stunned by undulating needs