Chen-ou Liu Poems

A haiku sequence for Susan Sontag, author of Regarding the Pain of Others, who claimed that

'The truth is always something that is told, not something that is known. If there were no speaking or writing, there would be no truth about anything. There would only be what is.'
...

like a coolie
laboring in English wordmines
for seven years...
the scars in his mind
...

misty morning
'Reality, what a concept! '
scrawled on the window
...

new immigrant
to the land of hungry ghosts
of the Muse
I write love tanka
...

'Madiba's gone'...
a young Mandela raised
his right fist
...

"Carpe Diem"
on his gravestone
winter light
...

midsummer night
home alone with my dog
picking fleas
...

his gravelly voice,
'all your feet flat on the floor...'
mosquitoes buzzing
...