Kan Mingtian

Kan Mingtian Poems

The Best Poem Of Kan Mingtian

Slot Machine

The lever is pulled, the colors blur.
This machine has a million combinations, but only one you want see
Spinning time after time, the numbers won't appear

We live surrounded by other people, then where does loneliness come from?
What drives us to keep pulling the lever?
To meet others, listen to their stories, keep going till we find those triple sevens?
We keep trying, hoping the next pull of the lever will bring those elusive numbers,
That elusive person.

I've never known a greater paradox than the joy of getting close to other people.
To be alone is solitary, lonely, isolated but it is secure, uncomplicated, predictable
To open yourself to others is to open yourself to uncertainty, disappointment
All the anxieties of placing your trust in something you can't control
Someone other than yourself.

The people we love aren't just people we put a small four letter word in front of.
For some irrational reason we have left the security of isolation.
The joy of sharing in their lives is greater than the risks of opening ourselves.
Four small letters to describe the largest, bravest act I can think of

I think of these things while I watch her pull the machine's lever.
A determined look on her face, the slots continue to whir.
When I take her hand and look in her eyes those anxieties are forgotten.

We are both standing on a rock flying through space at hundreds of miles an hour
Our very existence is absurd
It is an even greater miracle than finding that right person or those lucky sevens
But unlikely things can happen; we are living proof.

As I stand on this planet, just one more of billions revolving around the sun
I feel the cool touch of her hand and the sweet sound of her voice
Revealing her hopes, fears, desires and dreams


I don't know what the future holds but I know a few things for certain
I'm glad I decided to pull the lever, glad I decided to find her.
I catch the radiance of her smile reflecting across the screen
Three bright red sevens, arranged neatly in a row

She and I found those sevens after all
And that's a comforting thought.

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