Twelve Poems

Constance Chien

Au Contraire

we are but a flicker of a match;

a page of the book,

a blot of ink

of the chasms

of the universe.

we will never conclusively (at least with science) know the true origin of this universe,

but for the time being,

we fill this void of knowledge with faith;

faith in a higher being,

that a purpose is set out for us.

that our existence,

it matters.

the sailboat drifting through Long Island Sound

produces a ripple,

that someday will contribute to a hurricane;

the pollutants that we put into our air,

produces a slight warming,

that will contribute to a global catastrophe, for

We are the change.

Monosaccharide 

I am morose,

lachrymose;

no,

these are not sugars,

nor sugary in the least,

(despite the -ose suffix)

for tears are bitter,

rather than saccharine,

like you,

and he shall love you,

be enamored with you,

as I wallow in self-deprecating pity,

in not the saccharine happiness you shall have,

but morose,

lachrymose

and bitter tears for you,

and I wish,

that these tears,

hydrolysis will they perform,

and break the covalent bonds

of the starch

that I have become.

La Ave

La ave,

ella vol—,

ella vol— en la incertidumbre,

ella vol— en la mar profunda de las memorias,

y ella aprendi— lo que sucedi—

cuando era ni–a.

fue una mentira,

todo fue una mentira,

una vez el mundo era perfecto.

y ahora todo que se queda,

son las cenizas de su esperanzas,

las cenizas de su sue–os.

ellos volaron.

Isolation

at this stage of my life,

there is no clear way to isolate myself,

no matter how callous and distant I feel,

no matter how withdrawn I am

and nonchalant towards everything,

I am bound to society,

anchored with social pressures,

with boundaries and expectations;

there is seemingly no free will,

as I will follow the same path as those before me,

the road taken, numerous times.

Ode to Chloride, regards from Sodium 

my tormenting love interest, alas,

we shall never be more than but a compound,

ionically bonded,

and, by the vicissitudes of fate,

attracted to one another,

yet shall never be a molecule,

..covalently bonded,

love consummated,

a perfect circle,

a stable atom.

we shall never share electrons,

however neutral our ionic bond brings us.

Stream of Consciousness

and here I am,

in this pensive state,

my wistful state.

where I long for never-to-be-fulfilled desires,

repress my wishes,

only for them to reappear

tonight.

and I dash off bits of seemingly inspired verses,

hoping to reveal something,

hoping to prove

hoping for something known.

my habits changing,

obeisances no longer followed,

ascetic discipline no longer a grip,

replaced with saturnine temperament,

overwrought poetry,

inchoate ramblings and thoughts and wishes and writing

and here comes the slippery slope of depression.

and here I am.

in this pensive state.

wistful.

and calm.

still.

violent.

agitation.

this stream

going on

and on.

and on.

Withdrawn

I find myself withdrawn, lost in thought, to the extent of not noting my surroundings;

they are simply there,

known to the point of not noticing subtle changes,

accustomed to the point of forgetting.

I would like once again to notice the small details,

the miniscule beauties encapsulated in an "ordinary" object..

and what is ordinary?

and what are we to define it?

To a small child experiencing the still new world, it is anything but ordinary. 

Trochaic Tetrameter

Crimson banners waving deftly,

Quiet evening starting plainly

Who would think this very hour,

Revolution's guise would arrive.

October

The month October,

Lifeless leaves and drinking tea,

Losing hope and pain.

Tea

Drinking profusely

This tea, attempting to drown

This morose feeling.

The Inundating of the Earth

We stand idle.

     They stand idle.

     We all stand idle,

Ever loosening the bridle,

     Politicians, students, teachers,

     Mothers, fathers, children,

We all stand awaiting,

      Awaiting for the inundating of

      The Earth.

      For the inundating of the Earth.

Slowing eating up our diversity,

      Increased did our fragility,

Couldn't we have envisioned

      The possibility

That we were not practicing civility,

For yes, I say,

We are now all waiting for

The inundating of the earth,

For the inundating of the Earth.

But why, I say,

      Why not stop today,

      Not tomorrow.

      And stop our sorrow?

Logic

you seemingly surpass me

in the areas of logic,

that gray, blurr'd area of study,

where assum'd postulates give way to "truth"

standardised testing is

perhaps not the prop'r way

to measure one's ability.

theorems and postulates may be memorised,

but logic can never be.