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Poetry Archive Now Wordview 2020: Standing Still Against the Pandemic
by Yuan Changming
As the whole world comes to a standstill during the pandemic, I write this poem to articulate my reflection on the relationships between modern technology and cultural tradition, between life and art in terms of what we can 'see' with our naked and inner eyes.
Poetry Archive Now Wordview 2020: Standing Still Against the Pandemic
Having nothing better to do, I kill
Time by looking at a traditional
Chinese painting on my new iPad
Much enlarged, it appears like
A plain sheet of rice paper
Smeared with ink. I view it
In the presence of bonsai; I
Drop several thick strokes to the floor
Of history, leaving a few fine lines
Behind the sofa, & failing
To catch a colorless corner
Between black and white
It is a landscape newly relocated
Into my heart’s backyard. Then I sit
On my legs, meditating about
No light in the picture, no
Shadow of anything, no perspective
As in hell. Isn’t this the art of seeing?
Recording provided as part of Poetry Archive Now: Wordview 2020. Used by permission of the author.
A special thank you to our WordView 2020 poets.
Chair of the Judging Panel, Imtiaz Dharker, says: “The hundreds of entries we received blew in to the Archive like a breath of pure, unpolluted air from all over the world, revealing something of the time we are living in, some telling it straight, some slant. It was exciting to check in to the Poetry Archive’s Youtube channel every morning and come upon one unexpected voice after another."
See the collectionWatch the full Wordview 2020 playlist