MATH

How many months have you had on this world?
If you’re 18, twelve times 18, 216.
My son has just figured it out.
He is two months older now,
218.
How many days have you had on this world?
218 times 30, and a few more.
January has 31 days, February 28, March 31. So those three each have 30.
May has 31 days, July and August too,
that’s three days more than average.
Halloween and December 31, that’s two more.
Five days more
than 30 days each month every year.
18 times these five days, 90 days.
218 x 30, how much is that?
Say 220 times 30, that’s 6600.
Then 60 less.
6540, now plus 90.
6630, plus a few days.
He is born on March 14.
So it is how many more? 16, 17 days?
6647?
How many hours is that?
What if it was 6700 days?
That would be 6700 times 24.
6700 times 20, 134,000
Plus 6700 x 4, 26,800.
That would be 160,800.
But it was less. 53 days less.
53 x 24, 20 x 53 is 1060,
plus 4 x 53, that’s 212, right?
So 1272 hours less.
1272 minus 800, ok? 472.
160,000 – 472, 159528. Right?
One hundred sixty thousand hours
give or take, if you’re 18.
Now how old are you?
Years are enough, for most of us.
Nobody wants to know exactly,
most of our time.

MW May 31, 2023

42
– thanks Douglas Adams

there is nothing special about anyone
there is nothing special about any town
there is nothing special about any street
or any sheet –
there is nothing special about any day

there is something special about every one
there is something special about every town
there is something special about every street,
every sheet,
every day.

maybe all of these things are true
maybe all of these things are too much

sometimes a poet is an asshole
sometimes a poet may be a great person

maybe sometimes any person
can be an asshole
most probably

what is it all 4?
what is it all 5?
what is it all 42?

sometimes we do what we can do
sometimes we are happy
for a short while

MW May 2023

Mask by Tristan Tréhin

SIX IN THE MORNING

what do you see at six in the morning
people who look like six in the evening
twelve in the evening
at six in the morning

and you see the sun

sometimes you can sit
and have a coffee

MW May 2023

DAYS

For days I have been
still up in the air somewhere
above Vienna

The first impression was cold,
very cold for May 17th

MW May 2023

POET’S BLUES

Two or three people
can publish a book,
every book gets
an ISBN.
It’s not expensive
nor exclusive,
you write what you want
about your country.
On the other hand
poetry is not deemed relevant
by almost anyone.

In Doha Airport
big words in English float in the back
behind immigration.
Rather poetic,
maybe from the Qoran.
In Arabic too,
even more beautiful.

China, Qatar…

Respect for poetry,
in different ways.
Everyone likes respect,
respect for life,
for each other.

Peace.

Oh poetry!

Got to finish my water
before security.

5/17/23

DR. STRANGE ON FLIGHT

artists are keepers
of multiverses
there are no minds
only hearts
everything in our hearts
is always new
maybe because
in a way
nothing is

MW May 17, 2023

DEPARTURE

We are moving
we are going
HK airport was not bad
empty
nice in a way
more than other places
battered maybe
eggtarts and coffee
etc
open at midnight

Doha is coming soon enough

MW 5/17/23 00:30

LAST DAY

Luohu border, early morning
I have been sweating so much I can’t sleep
It’s rather cold, blankets all wet
there are mosquitoes
First come the birds, then comes the dawn
then comes the sun
then all the cars
train doesn’t go very much
This time tomorrow I’m up in the air
over the ocean
It smells like breakfast

MW May 2023

VIENNE

Je suis retourne à Vienne.
Je suis pas mal,
seulement fatiguè,
il etait long, ces travaux
de retourner.
Il est froid,
il pluie beaucoup.
Dans mes pensees
je suis encore en l’avion.
Je suis retourne,
mon famille est bon.
Telle est la voie.

MW 2023-05-18

LIFE

Life is no straight line
it’s not 41 percent alcohol
maybe just 4.1
that’s very good too
It was a good night
Mostly life
should be like that

MW 5/12/23

生命

生命不是一条线
不一定是41度的酒
很可能只有4.1
也很好喝
整个晚上
大家快乐
大部分都
就是这样

2023.5.11

THIS IS THE WAY

This is the way
up the Great Wall.
Local people
go up to the Wall.
Tourists should
buy a ticket
to climb the Great Wall.
Almost everyone can
climb the Great Wall.
Maybe everyone can
drive each other
all the way
up the Wall.
Anyway we
are on the wall.
It’s very quiet.
There is shade.
Should have brought
a sleeping bag,
maybe a mat.
Maybe a jacket,
just for the night.
Anyway
it’s a long way
from anywhere
although the town
is very close.
We can see cars.
We can hear trucks,
motorcycles.
There are big bees,
very big.
Probably wild.
We have brought fruits,
but they keep their distance.
Four years
after the last time
everyone could
drive each other
almost anywhere
up to infinity
and beyond.
This is the way.

MW 05/08/23

MOON

We see each other through the moon
like people have done
and animals maybe
for hundreds of thousands
or millions of years
goats are calling
trees sound a bit like surf on a beach
gently
there’s a plane
trains
but it’s very quiet
out here

MW May 2nd, 2023

MOON

The moon is a frisbee
going up diagonally
I can’t know the speed
but it looks slow to me

MW May 2023

THINGS

You are in the city
you hear what happened
on the same day
It is briefly online
then it’s gone
Similar things
happened not long ago
People died
you don’t know why
this time in the subway
and you wonder
what would happen
if it was in the news

MW May 1st, 2023

MOON

The moon feels warmer tonight
on May 1st, finally.
She must have been freezing,
there was hail out here
in the countryside,
while I was away
in another city.
But today was fine,
even hot in the sun
for a while.
Now she is getting misty again,
I think she wants to sleep,
just like us.

MW May 1st, 2023

Michael Downs，PINK TOWER，Mixed media on canvas and wood，2018，167×98cm

TODAY

Can I write a poem today
didn’t sleep enough
grey skies
not bad
means it’s not hot
Saw rocks today
small flowers
Went out to visit a painter
in the north of Beijing
in this region
there are over
five thousand artists
Xiao Rui also makes
wonderful noodles

How about writing poems in Tibet
poems in Xinjiang
poems in Russia
You can in Taiwan
on the mainland
it gets harder

Each day writing poetry
making pasta
painting
communicating
negotiating

Culture
tradition
nation
marriage
family
records
what are they

Anyway for a while
there’s a place
for you to paint
for you to write
for you to live
It’s not easy

How should you write
how should you paint
how should you live
each day trying
searching trying
for a living

Making a painting
some kind of art
some kind of thing to make money
Yesterday I did a lecture
made a little maybe

Translating novels
editing and so on
anyway poetry
pure art
the dumbest art
does it make money

No problem
you can live
you can paint
you communicate
you have work
you can have
your own records

For a while
there are things
there are friends
there are works
there’s a world

Each day I ask
can I write a poem

MW 2023-05-05 in Chinese,
English version five days later

Mask by Tristan Tréhin

今天

今天可以写诗吗
又睡得太少
天灰色
不过也不错
这样不太热
今天看到了石头
看到小花
出去了看画家
艺术家
在北京以北
就在这一带
超过五千人
谢谢瑞画家
做得好面条

西藏可以写诗吗
新疆怎么样
俄罗斯可以吗
在台湾可以
在大陆写
就写得不容易

每天写诗
每天做面条
画画
沟通
商量

文明
传统
民族
婚姻
家庭
记录
都是什么东西

反正暂时
有一个地方
可以画画
可以写诗
可以生活
都不容易

应该怎么写
应该怎么画
应该怎么活
每天试试
试试找找
找找办法

做一幅画
一种艺术
一种东西可以赚钱
昨天做讲座
赚了点点

翻译小说
做编辑等等
反正诗歌
最纯的艺术
最愚蠢的艺术
有人赚钱吗

没关系
可以生活
可以画画
可以沟通
可以工作
可以有
自己的记录

暂时
有一些东西
有一些朋友
有一些作品
有一个世界

每天都问
可以写诗吗

2023.5.5

Sculpture and photo by Tristan Tréhin

TIME

My morning
is when you are deep in the night.
My noon
where you are is just after dawn.
Three in the afternoon
is for you nine o’clock.
My evening
is your noon.
My night
is your afternoon.
When your evening comes
my new day begins.

MW April 2023

Michael Downs，SMALL CHINESE LANDSCAPE，Mixed media on canvas and wood，2018，91×66cm

时间

我的早上
是你的深夜
我的中午
是你的黎明
我下午三点
是你的九点
我的傍晚
是你的中午
我的晚上
是你的下午
你终于到了晚上
我已经开始新的一天

2023.4.22

Sculpture by Tristan Tréhin

INPUT

The input of people who understand Putin
is disturbing
The input of people who blame the US
is far removed
The input in the Ukraine
is the war

MW April 2023

Sculpture and photo by Tristan Tréhin