This one was a long time coming - 2/18/2002

A Poem for the Chinese New Year

"May I have your name and number please?"
For I am charm and attraction rolled into one –
How can you resist one born
In the Year of the Rat?

"No fear my dear – for my eloquence
Will surely make up for the fact
That I do not act very well, being born
In the Year of the Ox."

I've never heard him speak his mind
All at one time. He merely lets slip
Observations of wit: most of him is hid –
In the Year of the Tiger

"O what care I take when I see her
To say how lovely she is –
For I'm full of tact, articulate, born
In the Year of the Rabbit."

"I do not love by speech alone
But let energy and honesty do the talking.
I'm a little to soft when it comes to love, born
In the Year of the Dragon."

" I know who I'll love and they'll love me too.
My depth of knowing and surface beauty
Confirms this." So said one born
In the Year of the Snake.

"Some peace, some peace please! Ladies
Stand back in queue!" I wish I had paid
More attention to the fact that I was
Born in the Year of the Horse.

Accomplished and elegant,
Too concerned with Art and
Irrelevance to be in love –
Was one born in the year of the Sheep.

"I'm a genius! I'm brilliant. I prance
In eccentric glee, because these questions don't
Concern me. Love has nothing to do
With one born in the year of the Monkey".

"Once she loved me. Now she says I'm
Arrogant and uncaring. Love
Failed hurts, for I was born
In the Year of the Rooster.

"I'm not too romantic,
But at least I'll never stray
From love's first kiss –
I was born in the Year of the Dog."

"She has yet to love me but
I'm sure she will. And I'll stubbornly
Persist until she does. I was born
In the Year of the Pig."

"I have loved many. And many have
Loved me. For they could not tell
Black from white. For I was born
In the Year of the Skunk."

That single last line has been fermenting for a real long time. I think I heard of it about 6 months ago. But never had a serious chance to think about it. It was uttered from the lips of a four year old child who was bullied terribly by her siblings at home. She claimed her elder brother was born in the year of the skunk. I thought of writing a piece that dramatised the situation more clearly, one that was more serious in tone. But CNY gave the line another way of seeing the light of day.