The Poetry Project

爸 (Pa)

Isalina Chow

sik fan…sik fan…Ma!
a tin ricochet is singing
rustling evil leaves and branches
there’s less rice today

pendulum eye on cracked ceiling
one duck with a rope around its neck
wings spread in two unequal bends
for three weeks and four days

claps, clicks, sticks in bowls
back pockets clanging change
from deep dive to coin pool
empty bellied boy dreams

Work from The Art of Accumulation with Vi Khi Nao

Elsewhere