Anna Yin was Mississauga’s Inaugural Poet Laureate and has authored five collections of poetry since 2011. Her poems/translations have appeared at ARC Poetry, New York Times, China Daily, CBC Radio etc. Anna won the 2005 Ted Plantos Memorial Award, three grants from OAC, and teaches Poetry Alive. website: annapoetry.com
Ask —after QuYuan In no time summer solstice has arrived; in a trance the Dragon Boat Festival follows. My heart is wrapped by leaves of reeds, unfolding then closing— bittersweet and salt-sweat, mixed flavors spread and spin. Neither the rolling Yellow River nor the green Miluo River appears; in my dream, the craving and craved shadow accompanies me all the way till dawn. On my window, raindrops keep tapping; whispers from winds heard far and near— I ask how many verses could survive erasure and sing eternally, and how high waves could rise after another drowning… I see Wuchang fish fly in the reflection of April willows, tails white as snow flashing like knives. © Anna Yin, 2020
