Subverse Aphrodesia

Discovered in a anthology of Chinese poetry bought for 50 cents this afternoon at a book sale. Dedicated to all those shaken by the passing funk. Feel it. Know it as it helps you know yourself. And then outgrow it.

Perhaps
--reply to the Loneliness of a Poet


Perhaps our hearts
will have no reader
Perhaps we took up the wrong road
and so we end up lost

Perhaps we light one lantern after another
storms blow them out one by one
Perhaps we burn our life candle against the dark
but no fire warms the body

Perhaps once we're out of tears
the land will be fertilized
Perhaps while we praise the sun
we are also sung by the sun

Perhaps the heavier the monkey on our shoulders
the more we believe
Perhaps we can only protest others' suffering
silent to our own misfortune
Perhaps
because this call is irresistible
we have no other choice

Shu Ting
Translated by Tony Barnstone and Newton Lin

august stringberg & helium is the best thing I've discovered in a total stranger's links list in a long time...

24 Hours of Art at Marywood University

Outrageous News of the Week

In Washington State last fall, 27-year-old Shawna Hughes had her divorce revoked by Superior Court Judge Paul Bastine on the grounds that she was pregnant.
"The judge said he had to make sure the child was legitimate," Hughes told Women's eNews in an interview at her home. "And if I wasn't married, the child was illegitimate." The judge's reasoning was that the fetus had a right to know who its parents are. OK. Meanwhile, the hubbie to be ex'd has been jailed several times on domestic violence charges.
Mrs. Hughes says she's been abused since the birth of her first child. Her attorney has appealed the decision. A hearing is scheduled to be held in a few months.
A study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association has found that pregnant women are more likely to die of homicide than of any other cause.

Ain't that America! This case came up in November. I didn't see anything in the media. They'd rather wait until women are murdered (Laci Peterson) rather than draw attention to a legal system malfunction that fails to protect women at risk.

Youth Culture Observatory
Chloe Does Yale author Natalie Krinsky is now writing a bi-weekly blog aptly titled "Natalie Does New York." The most recent entry -- "Natalie Has Sent You An Evite" -- chronicles the exhausting number of 23rd birthday parties she has had to attend this year as old college pals try to create life before the real world -- if only for one night.

TV TurnOff Week is coming...

Read how they'll be turning if off in Philly.

Timmy Hopkins 1975-2005

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