“A COLLECTION OF POEMS”
by JONNY CHIN 钱思亮
In honor of 公公 (1932-2020)
For the past three years, I have interviewed different members on both sides of my family to learn more about their stories and Asian American history. The greatest inspiration for these poems, however, come from my maternal grandparents, whom I have been living with in San Francisco. These poems are my attempt to honor their legacy and to capture their lived experiences fleeing China, settling in Hong Kong, and then immigrating to the United States. I have also sought to make meaning of my Chinese immigrant heritage by finding parallels to the Biblical narrative.
It is my hope that through this collection of poems, readers will connect with their own family stories as well as with the God who wrote them. My writing style is inspired by artists Ijeoma Umebinyuo and Propaganda, and I dedicate this work to my beloved grandparents.
Ancestors, 1994
I do not simply stand above you. I am anchored like redwood to the bedrock you built.
My roots, strong like the smell of home you wear on your skin.
The fruit I reap, your sown seeds. Bountiful harvest branching off family tree…
Found in Translation
If language is key
and your stories treasure trove
then I grieve the paralysis
of my native tongue
unable to fully unlock the riches of your history…
Fugitive, 1952
Stewarding power faithfully shouldn't be a life sentence
but when wolves rule this animal farm
no one born year of the horse leaves unscathed…
Foreigner, 1850
The journey of a perpetual foreigner
too spicy for here
too sweet for motherland
never good enough for either…
Vagabond, 33 A.D.
Jesus
the only God who lived in human flesh
tasted the vinegar of a
restless rootlessness…
ABOUT JONNY
Jonny Chin (钱思亮) is a second-generation Chinese American who was born in San Francisco, but spent most of his childhood in Beijing after his family moved there in 2000. After an additional seventeen relocations spanning five cities and three countries, Jonny found himself back in the Bay Area, where he completed a Master’s of Arts of Teaching degree at the University of San Francisco. Surprisingly, Jonny did not taste the beauty of poetry till he was in college, where he was treated to a literary banquet by artists on the Poets in Autumn tour. When he is not busy teaching high school chemistry to San Francisco urban youth, Jonny can be found taking leisurely prayer walks, engaging in reflective conversations with friends, and yelling at the TV screen watching the NBA playoffs.
You can find some of his other poems on God, faith, and life here.