BridgesJingxian Zhang

(A dozen little snippets)

Affection

Dont use your chopsticks like that,

Mother said.I smirked, and ate.

Dont hold your pencils like that,

Father saidI shrugged, and wrote.

Dont cuddle your sister like that,

They both said.

I giggled, and did not let go.

Dont choose that path

I walked.

Dont move to that city

I lived.

(Dont grow up so fast dont go.)

I listened, and always came back.First Snow

Two bears lived in a snow globe,

But they didnt know each other.

The snow globe shook,

Fwump! They bumped together.

The snow globe spun,

Whoosh! They danced together.

The snow globe tipped,

Oops! They fell together.

The snow globe stilled,

And they settledHolding handsTogether.

A red line is tied to my pinky,

I follow it.

It leads me to mother,

It leads me to father,

And one friend,

And another.

The line goes for a little loop and spirals away into the sky.

I fly with it, and land on a golden coast.

My red line takes me from one place

To another.It brings me to sister,

And to brother.

It is sometimes slippery, sometimes too thin,

But it is tied to my pinky, so I do not lose it.

My eyes follow the line as I walk and walk,

Until I pauseAnd reach out to place my handIn another.My red line stops here,

Tied to his thumb.

Fates: Golden threads.Traverse through time; through space.

Cross for a fractional second.

Parallel for a lifetime.

Heights

Whats the weather like up there? They ask.

Theres less oxygen so

Is it harder to breathe?

Theres more clouds so

Is it harder to see?Here, wave my hat around,

Maybe the planes will fly around you then.

The weather? I ask.

Come close and I shall tell you.

It is raining, I say.

Then I sneeze.And put their hat back on their head.

They do not ask again.HERE BE MENThe dragons marked the map with a flourish.

When I was young, the grass was tall,

The flowers were fairy dust sprinklers.

The bushes bounced, the willows wept;

The birds they chattered, the mushrooms slept.

When I was young, the world was big,

The desks were unexplored caverns.

The pencil-my flashlight, the eraser-my friend;

The ruler-my staff, the umbrella-my tent.

I am still young, this I know.

But the grass is no longer tall.

The willows are scarce, the flowers in stores.

The pencil, ruler, eraser-just tools.

The desk cannot fit me anymore,

And the world is not so big.

All Natural SNAPPLEMade from the best APPLES

Made with the Best Stuff on Earth Dont deny it, sip it, try it!

Be Natural and quench your thirst!

What an opportunity!

Such good luck!

These days real juice is so rare.

But wait, I look at the fine print and see

10% juice from APPLE

And pear.I open my lunchbox,

And wish for a microwave.

Are those worms?

They are noodles, I say.

They smell funny.

You smell funny.

They smelt like cold noodles,

And they taste better than your uncooked vegetables.

I open my lunchbox,

And wish for something else.

Are those edible?

Its my lunch, I say.

I wouldnt eat that.

Well you cant.

Its my lunch.

My lunch that tastes of Mother, and pride, and a home far away.

I open my lunchbox,

And my wish was granted.

You eat normal food too?

Yes, I say.

Cool.

Its not normal food to me.

It smells funny,

And tastes like dry ash and defeat. Ketchup makes it better.

I open my lunchbox, I do not need wishes.

What is that?

Crocodile meat, I say. (Its not.)

I want some.

I take a moment to consider,

But am gracious in the end.

Victory tasted better than my fried pork.