Two Goats
By Marilyn Chin
A Sequence for Maxine Hong Kingston
一 (yī)
Two goats ascending
Mt. Fuji
Wearing flip flops
二 (èr)
A far cry
From the Pearl River Delta
And scrappy Stockton
三 (sān)
Woman Warrior
4 ft 9 inches tall
Teetering on kitten heels
四 (sì)
Feet bound for glory
Sorry, babe, that pun is
Objectionable
五 (wuˇ)
Jason Momoa
Shirtless
Unfurling his topknot!
六 (liù)
I say, again
Jason Momoa
Shirtless
Unfurling his topknot!
七 (qī)
Welcome to Gold Mountain
Gold Mountain so high
Gold Mountain so mighty
八 (bā)
Oh, the brow ridge of Theodore
Philtrum of Abraham
Sebum of Thomas
九 (jiuˇ)
We’ve arrived
No need to rush more
十 (shí)
Who wrote better verse?
Wounded warriors
Or solipsistic girl poets
十 一 (shí yī)
Sorry, Ting Ting
But they would not require
Your immanence
十 二 (shí èr)
Frankly speaking
The Monkey King
Is Whitman Ah Sing
On heroin
十三 (shí sān)
Uncouth gold digger
Ruthlessly pan-dering
For a refrain
十四 (shí sì)
A forty-niner
At the end of the bar says
The game is rigged
十五 (shí wuˇ)
Oh, we love the stones beyond
Laundromats
And quietude among chop suey joints
十 六 (shí liù)
He says:
Your monolid eyes excite me
Your pelli-pedal hooves complete me
十 七 (shí qī)
Brave Orchid walks into a bar
He says: we don’t serve cymbidiums here
十八 (shí bā)
Moon Orchid walks into a bar
How can you pay? You are scentless
十九 (shí jiuˇ)
A southern Baptist and an Anglican Buddhist, a rabbi, a hippie priestess walk into a bar ...
What is this, a joke?
二十 (èr shí)
Poets
Are immortal
Notes:
This poem is part of the portfolio “Maxine Hong Kingston: Water to the Brim.” You can read the rest of the portfolio in the April 2025 issue.
Source: Poetry (April 2025)