Chen-ou Liu

An Illegal Alien

A shadowy silhouette waves his finger at me, saying with a grim smile, “Give up your poet dream. I’ve been writing poetry since you were swimming in your daddy’s balls. Daydreamer!” 

“My father never thought I could swim across the border between linguistic solitudes,” I murmur to myself . . . “He never believed I could emigrate from ideogram to alphabet.”

the scars 
 on body and mind
 from my battles
 against this inner noise . . .
 Pacific waves lapping blue

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About the Author

Chen-ou Liu is the author of two award-winning books, and his tanka and haiku have been honored with many awards. To see his work, visit his Poetry in the Moment blog.