Kikwetu: A Journal of East African Literature
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Picture
image: Mwakesi Mwakale                             
Immigrating
Yuan Changming

Walking around
the corner of a back lane,
I used to carry my Arabian identity
as carefully as if it were a big piece
of glass, through which I could see
others or myself, only if I chose
to do so.
But on a hasty afternoon
I tripped down, and
smashed it into hundreds of
small and sharp pieces. Since then,
my shredded selfhood has become a big
public nuisance, a traffic hazard
as it glistens glaringly under the sun, cutting
tires or human feet, from time to time.


Yuan Changming, 8-time Pushcart nominee and author of 5 chapbooks, is the most widely published poetry author who speaks Mandarin and writes in English: since 2005, he has had poetry appearing in Best Canadian Poetry, BestNewPoemsOnline, Kwani?, London Magazine, New Coin, Rowayat, Saraba Magazine, The Threepenny Review and 1069 others across 36 countries.  With a PhD in English, Yuan currently edits Poetry Pacific with Allen Qing Yuan in Vancouver.
The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the editors.    
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