We wrote these ourselves!!!
Original poetry by Karen Chung's Spring 2005 English Oral Training II class
Poems from: Spring 2002    Spring 2003     Spring 2004


1. Landscape of Pain
Eros Huang

Pain is just like that,
Abstract.

You smear a firefly
On your cheek,
That sticky sensation of
Insectual soul, and
You imagine its pain,
Your face glows with
Definite death

While light slips through your fingers.
It is abstract, and the rest
Circle In swarms
In indefinite life

Raining shooting stars and
Unfulfilled dreams,
Crushing onto speeding windshields
Or mistaken for hope; They
never avoid the highways.


2. Lost
June Zhang

Unfinished letters oft hide under the bobble hat,
A pencil elopes with a tea spoon in the coffee pot,
Keys curl up somewhere in the apartment,
Clothes spill out and the closet breaks its commitment.

I collect my smile along with some scissors,
And pour my tears into woolen socks.
Dreams weave into a silent film I wait and watch it,
Meanwhile I eat up my boredom with double cream.

Memories are crookedly trimmed, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.
In the crooked map of life, I get crookedly lost.

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3. Recycling
Letitia Li

Sunday night, it's raining.
At the table I classify
my feelings

Yesterday —
Plastic, unfading,
Tomorrow —
Metal, purring.

However, There is always useless trash
which I have no choice but to
Repeatedly recycle.


4. At First Sight
Evelyn Liu

One step closer, and both of you
tingle. Sudden rush of recognition.
Tremors beneath your fingers. The scaly skin.
Sighs of delight (so much yours) in full leaf.
Hushed admiration sounds
and echoes. Arched branches and descended
fruit, crimson in its bloom.
A kiss of lingering farewell. A shared bite.
Last day in the garden, in a
time out of mind.

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5. The Scab
Dorothy Lin

So many times
I teach my naughty fingers
To coexist with the scab,
For experience has taught me
The enraged blood will gush
From the wound of memory
To revenge for the crust
After the scratching.


6. I'm Busy
Connie Liu

The many Busies on the streets
Have never learned to take a break.
Whether a Monday or a Sunday,
It's all the same, a work day.

Forever another project due,
And forever another meeting too.
That's all they think matters,
There's time for respite later.

Until one day the Busies stopped being,
He became he,
And she became she.
The world was a beauty to see.

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7. Heartache
Pao Hsin Huang

You could write a verse,
A song, a sonnet, or
Even an epic,
Using the most vivid and lavish words.

You could paint a picture
On India paper, on canvas or,
Even on a wall of a cathedral,
Splashing out the most outrageous and fauve Impressionism.

You may have penned everlasting stanzas
You may have portrayed an earless old man
But perhaps,
You could have or should have
Simply left the India paper, the canvas, the wall, the page





Blank.


8. Sweet Torture
Peggy Lin

There is a kind of sweet tasting torture,
Which is easily found in lovers.
Immersed in a small world, Happily spending every moment together.
          Sweet.
Apart, suspicious, jealous, disturbed,
Without missing a moment.
          Torture.
Somehow, people still keep pursuing,
This Sweet Torture.

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9. Adobiosis
Alcyone Hu

This should be a good poem, about my everyday life.
But my heart is like my stiff vocal cords,
My mind, like my chaotic lips and tongue.
I stammer and forget the cadence,
Hurting my feelings, and your ears.
So, I¡¦ll take a deep breath¡K
Starting¡Know, ladies and gentlemen,
I¡¦m going to recite wonderfully,
Rising and falling, stopping at stops.


10. In March When it Rains
James Ke

On an pleasant afternoon in March
When the sun tries to snooze,
Gloomy clouds cluster in groups,
And slimy drops of gray start to ooze.

The endless pouring embraces the land
Which has long requested a refill.
Yet my heart is damp and bored,
Sleep with insanity I certainly will.

Now the power of the sun has returned,
But the gears on my bike are too rusty to sustain.
I go to the repairman to pay for a biopsy,
400 dollars in remembrance of the rain.

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11. Miracle
By Gina Wu

Alone, you landed on this sphere
Without hesitation or fear,
Your spirit so pure and innocent.

Eagerly, everyone was waiting with a joyous tear,
Looking forward to the happiness you¡¦d bring here.
The preparations were all done to completion.

However, being an angel was your fated career.
After a short stay you decided to say good-bye and disappear.
Still, you were a gift from heaven.


12. Bilingual
Doreen Chou

Cats and dogs usually fight.
On both sides, dislike.
Someone wants to relieve the tight
Situation, so he offers advice.
Student exchanges from each side.
Bilingualism should make communication kind.
So everyone feels fine
Never again to fight.

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13. On a faded orange afternoon
Kristy Hsieh

On a faded orange afternoon you called my name.
¡§Kristy,¡¨ vaporized like the steam of the heat,
So vague, so tender, yet growing hotter from the faded orange.
¡§Kristy,¡¨ you said, ¡§Are you ready to go swimming?¡¨
You brought me to the beach,
Showed me the light blue ocean which sigh constantly
So we dived in her tears,
Cooled, parted, fainted, and then were free.


14. Strife
Jane Dai

Sense expelled,
Wrath controlled.
Erect a wall for defense,
Ditch the fosse for protection,
Muster evil words for assault.
Launch.
Hurl, Strike, Thrust,
Fling, Dash, Shatter, Hack, Pierce, Prod.
Piercing cannons,
Vocal outrages,
Harrow the enemy grimly.
But, Beware,
Ruthless invaders.
What has been blurted out,
Can not be withdrawn.
The injuries caused,
Are hard to heal.
Even the most proficient repairer,
Can not fix a shattered relationship over and over again.

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15. Untitled
Timmy Chen

Sinister is the man so Byzantine.
He met my girl online, addressed her as "Divine",
He encouraged her to dine with him and quoted a Shakespearean line.
He swore if she were to simply sheepishly decline,
He would constantly and plaintively whine and pine.
He is now desperate like a fish on a sharp tine.

Considering this my mind is no longer crystalline,
I try to think of a smart solution just like Einstein.
I reflect and refine, recap and recline,
Unwittingly pouring on my shirt nine drops of wine.
This ominous sign I regard as my high school sine and cosine.
"'Tis fine," says she, "oh, my funny Valentine."


16. You Can¡¦t Overturn
Ligo Su

Bubba

How I wish to sing a solo in your soul,
listen to the peace that
perches on my heart
with silence

But the melody doesn¡¦t
dance forever, and the
bars gone with the
time floating.

But,
brutal reality
smirks, grins at this
innocent flow,
killing it
with
over
tu
ne
:¡ü

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17. Betrayal
Rio Tang

I didn¡¦t mean to hurt you that way,
Guilty, I have a price to pay.

I see my trembling hand,
Watching you, I can hardly stand.

Guilt bulges out, devouring me.
I feel locked up tight
For a century of lonely nights.

I¡¦ve seen you suffer, seen your pain,
But, someone else must to be blame.

I¡¦ll just walk away, Pretending everything¡¦s okay.
You must know I won¡¦t take the blame!


18. Four-leaf Clover
Lena Lung

Purple, tender, exquisite,
Four little heart-shaped leaves
Waver in the sunshine, glittering.
Whisper in delight, "Hello, dear friend."

Little angels wear purple flowers as hats,
Dancing, accompanied by the soft kiss of a breeze.

Pick one for you, one for me,
As a remembrance of this moment, when
Two hearts touched. We smile at each other; and I wish you—
Good luck!

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19. The Covenant
Artemis Kao

Curse the Devil, curse mankind!
In my deep despair I cry
If life is meant to be purgatory
Why did You create me?

Bloody deluge from the sky
Where then can I hide?
The Ark is nowhere to be seen
O please, let me in!

The rainbow, ¡¥tis a covenant
As recorded in the Testament
With fire, with hail, with swords and disease
God will destroy and keep his promise.

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