Huang 1

Jeffrey Huang

Professor Lillmars

Writing 30

11 October 2015

Chinese New Years

When New Year’s come round,

Everything goes up in frenzy,

Dates are made,

Dates are made—and to go along with everything—

And that’s just one of the sweets of the few.

Over in an alcove of kitchen,

Mom dotes upon roast suckling pig,

Glaze sets in, hardened candied under eyefall,

Cloying aroma wafts amongst the watchful,

And Mouths water in tandem.

House is festooned with lanterns,

Leeks tied to tangerines or mayhaps some scallions,

And charms and ancestral shrines abound.

Pick up the incense, pay one’s respects,

Try one’s best to infuse meaning but enigmatic.

Huang 2

When New Year’s is partway,

Everything goes smoothly,

Laughs are shared,

Laughs are shared—over tales and quails—

And that’s just one of many to follow through.

And now YOU do this for tomorrow

And tomorrow even after,

And guess what? The rest of the week too.

People’s faces blur, you’re all in a whirl,

But you can’t complain, else you’d be misconstrued.

Now the Peking Ducks fly by, savory waft in tow,

And the Steamed Fish staring forlornly,

With it Mustard Greens can’t go,

Supple in flesh, difference only in skin,

But beautiful concoction falling below.

Eating to fill,

Pungent smells disperse,

Taste buds caressing a carousel,

Hues, fumes and tunes (you can hear!),

Dancing on the soft, warm red carpet floor.

Huang 3

That’s you too,

Socializing there,

Old faces—not necessarily intended—

Flit by, but so long vice versa,

Whether in pleasant surprise or ill-shod disguise.

If you’re a kid, it’s “great”

Or so you think it is,

But as an adult you’re grimacing all the same,

The red pockets “generously” distributed

But you see it for what it goes through.

When New Year’s is over,

Drinks have been drunk,

Celebrations have been snuffed

Celebrations have been snuffed,

that is to say you too!

Bursting at the seams,

You can only grin in your slovenly sheen,

Fun, but Celebration’s hard on the body too.

You try to stretch your back

But to no avail.

Huang 4

Then you realize you’ve already done too much of that—

For weeks, you’ve indulged yourself through and through,

It lost its splendor, its incitement, its ague

Likewise your back only went through too.

Chinese New Years stretched you!