Monday, April 4, 2016Issue 07.01LDOC free art

Poetry by Yuan Changming

I’ll be your mirrorPhotographs by Carly Ries

On the Freeway

Driving through a forestI saw a deerStanding alone still

Like what I wish to watchFrom his godly position:Every human is so busyPassing by

Slowly

Let us take all the long time we needTo wake up from our overdue dreamsGet out of the bed, and stretch ourLimbs as far as possible for a new morning

Let us take all the long time we needTo listen to the first song of the birdsWatch the rise of this summer sun, feelThe breeze combing each tree with tenderness

Let us take all the long time we needTo enjoy being together with our belovedExchange a smile so that they can stay withUs just a few seconds or even minutes longer

Yes, let’s take all the long time we needTo drink this tea, to chat about this weatherTo look back at the road we have travelled alongTo think, to cry, and to die in lingering twilight

I Think; Therefore, I Am

But of course being what I amDoes not always require thinking

Being what I am is actually sufficient

Or requires nothing but eating, drinkingFucking, farting, pissing, pooing and sleeping

Often, being what I am doesn’t even requireFeeling, besides making money by selling

All that I have and/or I am. Indeed

Being what I am requires neither thinkingNor feeling, now except perhaps writing

I write; therefore, I amThough I am not what I think

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Yuan Changming, 9-time Pushcart nominee and author of seven chapbooks, published monographs on translation before moving out of China. Currently, Yuan edits Poetry Pacific with Allen Yuan in Vancouver, and has poetry appearing in Best Canadian Poetry, BestNewPoemsOnline, Threepenny Review and 1149 others across 38 countries. http://yuanspoetry.blogspot.ca

Carly Ries is an artist living and working Chicago, IL. Her series I’ll be your mirror is an ongoing project in the city of Chicago and areas surrounding Lake Michigan exploring connection between strangers. She received her MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and her BA from Hampshire College in Amherst, MA. Her photography has been exhibited across the United States. www.carlyries.com

LDOC is a free photography and creative writing publication featuring a new local artist and writer each month, creating an installment-based experience for the Chicago commuter. Find LDOC in red newspaper boxes at the following Red Line stops: Howard St., Belmont, Sox-35th, and 69th. LDOC is also distributed by volunteers at the downtown Red Line Lake stops every first and third Monday evening of the month.