![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Post 167) from Xanga
Oct. 16th, 2001 03:11 pm167) Our friend D. is in China with his parents, taking in the cultural roots of his people, the smog, the pitiful technology-- all of it.
He wrote to us complaining about the bad technology opportunities (difficult for him to network through to the correct machines so he could check his e-mail!)... the corny "cultural" program he went to, featuring people on stage pretending to play traditional instruments while a soundtrack boomed through the hall... the rudeness and inattentiveness of clerks at department stores, where it can often take you upwards of 45 minutes to make a simple purchase...
Our friend C. wrote back with a few haikus she wrote about his experiences.
This inspired the rest of us. I wrote three:
Painful tinnitus
Fake, too loud sound hurts us while
Fingers pluck thin air.
"Mei you, mei you-ah"
A sullen stare rakes across
The dusty counter.
No fresh vegetables--
"Dirty, dirty, cook them all!"--
Gummed intestines suck.
Then C. wrote one in a more traditional format for Chinese poetry: four lines, 5 syllables per, rhyming throughout:
Then K. wrote a haiku:
Then C. wrote one about K. and D.:
Finally, I wrote a little haiku series:
He wrote to us complaining about the bad technology opportunities (difficult for him to network through to the correct machines so he could check his e-mail!)... the corny "cultural" program he went to, featuring people on stage pretending to play traditional instruments while a soundtrack boomed through the hall... the rudeness and inattentiveness of clerks at department stores, where it can often take you upwards of 45 minutes to make a simple purchase...
Our friend C. wrote back with a few haikus she wrote about his experiences.
D. disdains China...
He's denied technology
Loathes the finger-sync
D. is impatient
Clerks need reasonable time
One hour, not long...
He's denied technology
Loathes the finger-sync
D. is impatient
Clerks need reasonable time
One hour, not long...
This inspired the rest of us. I wrote three:
Painful tinnitus
Fake, too loud sound hurts us while
Fingers pluck thin air.
"Mei you, mei you-ah"
A sullen stare rakes across
The dusty counter.
No fresh vegetables--
"Dirty, dirty, cook them all!"--
Gummed intestines suck.
Then C. wrote one in a more traditional format for Chinese poetry: four lines, 5 syllables per, rhyming throughout:
China should beware
For D. hates it there
when his soul does tear
clerks, not well, will fare
For D. hates it there
when his soul does tear
clerks, not well, will fare
Then K. wrote a haiku:
No technology?
How can I get my email?
Thanks, Business Center!
How can I get my email?
Thanks, Business Center!
Then C. wrote one about K. and D.:
Two friends, K. and D...
Both need computers to hold...
Unhealthy, I'm told...
Both need computers to hold...
Unhealthy, I'm told...
Finally, I wrote a little haiku series:
"Cultural homeland"--
"Hey! Can't you read plain Chinese?"
I miss the U.S.
TiVo, VCR
Washing machine, rice cooker
Don's machines miss him.
Jet-lagged, no e-mail
Counting days till return, while
Friends write bad haiku.
Grumpy, frustrating,
China does not put on her
Best face for strangers.
But sometimes if quick
You can glimpse behind the scenes
Find the magic key--
Dial the numbers right,
Line things up, and the cosmos
Falls into order--
Pushcarts, onion cakes,
Sweaty men shouting at you
Perfect rose-tint dawn.
"Hey! Can't you read plain Chinese?"
I miss the U.S.
TiVo, VCR
Washing machine, rice cooker
Don's machines miss him.
Jet-lagged, no e-mail
Counting days till return, while
Friends write bad haiku.
Grumpy, frustrating,
China does not put on her
Best face for strangers.
But sometimes if quick
You can glimpse behind the scenes
Find the magic key--
Dial the numbers right,
Line things up, and the cosmos
Falls into order--
Pushcarts, onion cakes,
Sweaty men shouting at you
Perfect rose-tint dawn.
