Jasmine Gui, Toronto-Singapore
vi.
And so, the songs buried
in the sludge of the city
bruise black and yellow in your mouth,
a trampled field of sullen reeds,
snapping against desperate fingers.
Overhead, while birdcall summons a cloud column,
on the sidewalk, meticulous yet forgetful,
you wane doleful as a cluster of mums.
ix.
A tree flustered by wind showers you with furious
raindrops from a terrible yellow sky.
Meanwhile
you yourself are past being stirred.
The careless steam from a full teacup
burns your lips a surprised crimson.
Meanwhile
you yourself are out of care’s reach.
xi.
So who will shoot
the sun burning at the ragged rip
of your shoulder?
The black bird lifting
a stone at the edge of the water
looks over at you, saying nothing.
You in return, say nothing.
Jasmine Gui is a Singaporean-born interdisciplinary paper artist, arts programmer, writer and researcher based in Tkaronto (Toronto). She is the co-founder of TACLA, an Asian Canadian living archive initiative and runs an interdisciplinary arts studio, Teh People. Her work explores mythologies, landscapes, translations, traversals, and grief, and is grounded in intersectional, interdisciplinary grassroots communities. She is the author of two chapbooks and has been featured in Room Magazine, Held Magazine, SineTheta, GUTS Magazine, The Spectatorial, Panorama Journal, and Softblow amongst others. She also does experimental paper arts as one half of the creative duo, jabs.