Family Restaurant
Empty Lotus Room, no patrons
Only a telephone rings and rings
Muffled by an adjoining wall
He murmurs to a distant lover
His wife head-bent peeling shrimp
Hums an ancient tune about magpies
His daughter wide-eyed, little fists
Vows to never forgive him
His shadow enters the deep forest
Blackening the shimmering moss
Blues on Yellow
The canary died in the gold mine, her dreams got lost in the sieve.
The canary died in the gold mine, her dreams got lost in the sieve.
Her husband the crow killed under the railroad, the spokes hath shorn his
wings.
Something's cookin' in Chin's kitchen, ten thousand yellow bellied sap
suckers baked in a pie.
Something's cookin' in Chin's kitchen, ten thousand yellow bellied sap
suckers baked in a pie.
Something's cookin' in Chin's kitchen, die die yellow bird, die die.
O crack an egg on the griddle, yellow will ooze into white.
O crack an egg on the griddle, yellow will ooze into white.
Run, run, sweet little Puritan, yellow will ooze into white.
If you cut my yellow wrists, I'll teach my yellow toes to write.
If you cut my yellow wrists, I'll teach my yellow toes to write.
If you cut my yellow fists, I'll teach my yellow feet to fight.
Do not be afraid to perish, my mother, Buddha's compassion is nigh.
Do not be afraid to perish, my mother, our boat will sail tonight.
Your babies will reach the promiseland, the stars will be their guide.
I am so mellow yellow, mellow yellow, Buddha sings in my veins.
I am so mellow yellow, mellow yellow, Buddha sings in my veins.
O take me to the land of the unreborn, there's no life on earth without pain.
(c) 2002 by Marilyn Chin. All rights reserved.
|
