Changming Yuan

This Is A Line

(for Liu Yu and other mothers)

A line this is for my mother's birthday
A birth line for my mother's day
A mother for the birthday of a line
A celebration of my mother's line of birth

Mother, I will line your birth with celebration
I will day a line with birth celebration, Mother
I will mother a day line with celebration
I will celebrate the mothering of a line
Mother, I will celebrate a line's birthday

Mother my celebration of a line's day
Mother my day's line for a birthday
Celebrate my line with my mother's birth
Celebrate the day with my mother's line
Mother, I celebrate your birthday with a line

Lantern Review: A Journal of Asian American Poetry
Issue 1 | June 2010 | pp 3-4