On Another Rainy Day:
For Liu Yu

//yuan changming

It rains a lot in Vancouver
Often does this rain remind me of
The days when you sojourned here
With my family, after Father left all of us

While walking in the rain, you would
Recall, under my big umbrella
How you once awaited in a drizzle
With me in a broken basket on your back
To cross the widening river, not far
From our village when I was crying hard
For a large spoonful of flour soup (you were too
Weak and too hungry to produce any milk)

Seeing you do nothing about my hunger
The ferry man asked, Where is its mom?
I am his mother! You replied, hot tears rolling down
With the cold raindrops on your childish face
How old are you then? — Almost 17.

It is now raining again in Vancouver, and beyond this rain
Your voice echo aloud on the other side of this world

//Yuan Changming, an eight-time Pushcart nominee, grew up in rural China, started to learn English at 19, and published several monographs on translation before moving to Canada. Currently co-editing Poetry Pacific with Allen Qing Yuan in Vancouver, Yuan has poetry appearing in 1,009 literary publications across 32 countries, including Best Canadian Poetry, Best New Poems Online, and Threepenny Review.