Poem*** Ah! To Be Asian!

Existence by Kuo Yen-Huang
On display TU Asian Arts and Culture Center


Ah! To Be Asian!*

Ah! To be Asian! What do you see? Do you see me?
Do you see the lights in the night that Cheng dai le sees?
Do your eyes behold new birth in the purple ink of Li Chung Chung?
What a majestic view Liu Kuo-Sung looks upon as spring is coming!
To be Asian is to have my eyes.

Ah! To be Asian! What do you hear? Do you hear me?
Do you hear the blue melody on Li Chung Chung’s string?
Do you hear the wind blow in Hung-Hsien Chao’s forest?
How sweet the sounds of Juang lian don’s sonatas I and II!
To be Asian is to have my ears.

Ah! To be Asian! What do you smell? Do you smell me?
Do you smell the leaf fish on Yuan Chin-Taa’s ink?
Or the aroma of Taiwan cuisine as you change your seat?
Catch a whiff of incense as Lin jen ming’s still in wind blows!
To be Asian is to have my nose.

Ah! To be Asian! What do you taste? Do you taste me?
Can you taste Hee-Young Kim’s sacrificed chicken in ink No.3?
Or get your tongue around Shin Tung-Ching’s calligraphy?
Oh! To savor the Taiwan fish at Yuan Chin-Taa’s ink café!
To be Asian is to have my tongue.

Ah! To be Asian! What do you feel? Do you feel me?
Can you feel the air of Liu Kuo-Sung’s autumn night?
Or touch the blue snow that covers his colorful pond?
On a grey vague afternoon Li Hsi-yueh is abandon and adhering!
To be Asian is to feel what I feel.

Ah! To be Asian! Can you sense who I am? I am Asian!
I am the existence of Kuo Yen-Huang, the torrent of Hu Yi-Cheng.
I see the revelation, hear the vision, have the memory of Gao Xing Jian.
I am a journey of time, a cultural encounter. I have the heart of Cheng dai le.
To be Asian is to have my Asian soul!


By Ted Miller, Jr.
March 2, 2006

*First, I should say that I am not Asian. This poem was inspired by, based on, and written for the Towson University Asian Arts and Culture Center art show titled Abandon and Adhering. The art show is part of the International Modern Ink Painting Exhibition Project Plan. Having viewed the show and written this poem, I realize how less full my life is that I am not Asian, or that I know so little of the Asian Culture. In addition to the art show title as part of my poem, these artists’ names and titled artworks are also included:

Lights In The Night, Cheng dai le
New Birth, Li Chung Chung
Spring Is Coming, Liu Kuo-Sung
Blue Melody On String, Li Chung Chung
Wind Blows In The Forest, Hung-Hsien Chao
Sonata I and Sonata II, Juang lian don
Leaf Fish, Yuan Chin-Taa
Change Seat, Yuan Chin-Taa
Still In Wind Blows, Lin jen ming
No.3, Hee-Young Kim
Calligraphy, Shin Tung-Ching
Taiwan Fish, Yuan Chin-Taa
Autumn Night, Liu Kuo-Sung
Snow Covers The Colorful Pond, Liu Kuo-Sung
A Grey Vague Afternoon, Li Hsi-yueh
Existence, Kuo Yen-Huang
Torrent, Hu Yi-Cheng
Revelation, Gao Xing Jian
Vision, Gao Xing Jian
Memory, Gao Xing Jian
Journey Of Time, Cheng dai le
Cultural Encounter, Cheng dai le