Euginia Tan (b. 1991)

SELECTED POEMS

the hanging

responding to in the proximity of humans (the case for bird space), uncollected poems

he clutches a taut rope
sending his bird cage
skyward

the bird bounces
skittish as a flicked marble
warbling

pulling, tugging
his cage joins one of many
at the sunday morning square

old men gathered
beneath 
elevated birdsong

leaving his cage
nearer the heavens
he retreats under shade

past sorrow of his son’s
swaying corpse
hung casual as a dishcloth

memories, a pecking plea 
for birdfeed 
on uncalloused palms 

by Euginia Tan
first published in Waves Rising: Collected Works of Ho Poh Fun & Responses (2024)

 

SELECTED POEMS: “you char kway” >