Tse Hao Guang (b. 1988)
SELECTED POEMS
Losing Count
Rosary
Arithmetic and heaven seem to meet
here, in your hands. Earnest, I barged
in once and broke your words, strung
along our silences. We groped for them
in vain, catching snatches of take this pain
and show me how. You were never one
for careless talk, but I am still learning.
I stammered, retreated, my voice loud;
I could not know what you were holding.Pencils
Freshly sharpened in a row, they please
my artist's eye. You cannot see from where
you sit how lead might snap or tracing
go astray. The gentle aftermath of shavings
and eraser dust are signs of just how many
points have blunted. What I hold in frame looks
nothing like the view of you—hour-old elbow
with day-long neck, two legs slightly out of sync—
don't move, stay still, it's almost done.Baby Oil
After every shower, quick and wincing,
I trust the label, apply liberal amount
to affected area, imagine you. How
many weeks have passed without
my hands coarse on your skin? How
many months before this itch ceases?
I've given up calculating, I've let years slip,
slowly, quickly, from cracks in my cupped
palms to plastic celadon tile.
by Tse Hao Guang
from Deeds of Light (2015)
