Reliquary
I.
Ymir’s skull
Pan Gu’s eyes
Tiamat’s ribcage
Muhammad’s beard
Christ’s foreskin
Buddha’s teeth
Nadim’s blood
Rapunzel’s hair
Surpanakha’s nose
Venus de Milo’s arms
Winged Victory’s face
II.
Van Gogh’s ear
Kahlo’s toes
Francis Xavier’s hand
Evita’s womb
Hitler’s ball
Zheng He’s cock
Tin Woodman’s heart
Little Mermaid’s voice
Your skin
Our bones
My breath
* * *
From a Bilingual Haiku Series, Inspired by Four-Character Chinese Idioms
4. 唇亡齿寒
These jagged shards of
stone in my mouth: how they shake
for your absent lips.
嘴里的碎石:
它们为了你不在
的嘴唇颤抖 。
8. 刻骨铭心
Come, tattoo artist:
ink your heart onto my heart,
your skull on my skull.
来,纹身高手,
把你的心思雕刻
进我的心头。
9. 一针见血
The second needle
pierces skeleton. The third
strikes the mortal soul.
第二针将刺
穿骨架。第三分裂
可朽的灵魂。
NOTE: This piece first appeared on canvas sheets in "The Art of Rebellion: 造反有理," an exhibition by Amanda Lee Koe.