The dainty walk of Chinese women
beyond the Wall in olden days
was due to cruel and unusual punishment
confined and constrained by strange customary ways
victims of fashion prisoners of fad
small feet were in sadly big were bad
forced to wear a pair of lotus shoes
very small baby steps were all they took
altho' it wasn't until 1912 or so
when the girls were finally let off the hook
back then 'pon seeing his new-born daughter
especially when she cried
a Chinaman was bound to say
'Those toes are fit to be tied.'
Frog and Toad were on the road
When they met a Chinaman
He said, 'Harro. How do-you-do?
I nevel see two flogs rike you.'
A Chinaman named Dicky Yee -- Long E
-- so tiny they call him Short E
A Chinaman by the name of Wing Lip
Had an accident involving his zip
Talk about bad luck
Got his thingy stuck
Gave it a tug and he felt something rip.
His wife heard shouting and opened the door
She fainted when she saw it on the floor
Wing Lip is no fool
Cos minus his tool
Knows he's tiger in the bedroom no more.
Written 7th May 2020
A Chinaman had an "election"
That warranted public inspection
No one was fooled
Some ladies drooled
And promptly applied their affection.
Sixty year old Chinaman Lee Yung,
Had been out of a job for too long,
So desperate to work again
He went for an interview when
They said they wanted, somebody young. Yung
After reading the news
I feel a bit down
So I take a walk on the fabled Lower East Side
I pass a Chinaman
an Orthodox family
and apartment buildings
The mail comes - my book of poetry has not arrived yet
If you haven't been to NYC
What do you think of it?
It may surprise you when you get here
It may not be what you think
It is a place full of suprises
Some here say "Expect the unexpected"
But that is only one segment of the city
Not the entire city.
If you let the silent music of this place capture you
you may well find joy here
This city I've noticed
is full of dangers
But it does have a heart!
In twenty three a star was born,
A supernova amateur
Amongst a galaxy of pros.
Self-taught, he’d gain respect from all.
His generous spirit helped the young
With finance and encouragement
Inspired a post-war generation
Of graduate astronomers.
So many aspects to his life :
A TV personality,
Cheerful monocled professor,
Enthusiastic cricketer
(He bowled a vicious Chinaman !),
A guardian of the animal world,
Composer and musician,
Stargazer extraordinaire.
The sky at night is now less bright –
A knight is missing from the sky.
Our shining Patrick is no more,
His bright infectious chatter, gone.
On life outside the solar system
There’ll always be much speculation,
But he would keep an open mind,
When pressed on beings, alien.
He’d fix you with his glassy stare
And with that enigmatic smile
Pronounce his mantra clear and slow
To those who’d ask : “We just don’t know” !
He glances through the curtains as she leaves.
And he knew she was going with him instead.
Desperately he washes his soul of her but its for naught.
And he hangs each feeling on the line and the cool breeze.
She walks to the corner and gets into his car and flips her hair.
He always loved the way she flipped her hair and the body after a drink.
Her body would glisten with the sweat of his thrust and the bite on his shoulder.
The car pulls away and he watches the lights drive off with his heart and the bite.
The laundry machine moves like her and shudders and vibrates.
But she will return with food from the Chinaman.
Chinese food was how he knew.
She never ate Chinese food except afterwards.
The clothes lay fluttering in the night air as his heart dried.
And she came home with egg rolls and the feint smell of polo.
The morning on Mars back to the moon,
lunch at high noon, a short nap
Tea on this planet with a celestial map
That will be your schedule soon
This year the vacation’s planned for Andromeda
It’s only a two day drive, after all
You’re not badly off and have a stellar jeep
A recent make, albeit somewhat small
No matter though for your latest family is from Saturn
Where they come quite slim, and tall
Remember to visit the exclusive colony there
of sunbathing sloths
Who own parasite superseers
Shooting light vectors out of eyes
that transfix passing stars
In order gently to wipe their galactic tears
All that is for November
Now it’s only June and months of work
Designing an antimatter belt infinitely self expanding
To girdle an eighth of the universe
The order was terse : The plans must be ready
by September full stop
You know the Chinaman, the inscrutable cop
Deputising, for whom? Whomsoever
Never say sorry, never say no, never ever
It’s late, very late, by candlelight . I yawn .
Must finish this letter and sleep, before it’s dawn
When I was just a just a child...innocent and pure,
We would always stop after church.
In doing so it always left me in a lurch,
Because I would never know what to choose at the bakery store.
I would lose myself in the smell of the fresh bread,
Knowing it was doughnuts I would get,
Yet each time we went I would fret,
Because the smells of the bakery would get in my head.
Then, when I got older, I got the chance you see,
To have those sweet smells enjoyed each day.
When they asked what else but, "Yes", could I say.
I went to work in the bakery.
Learning by observation as the professionals would make
The delicious treats...bread, pies, cookies,
These guys were no rookies!
So began my passion to bake.
Now, am I known for the "Chocalate Chinaman" cake,
Just ask anyone who has been sated by its flavor.
I only make them for others as a favor.
Because of my passion, nurtured long ago, to learn to bake.
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.