I-CHING FOR CHAOS
Mount Buzhou (ไธๅจๅฑฑ)
{Mythical Mountain}
Displacement
43.
at the bed of water and sky, mediation, a space forms
to support the heavens from Earthโs fits of anger. Paradise up north,
cascading winds smash the jagged ridge. I desire
divination, yearn for relief from sorrow. To see fire drown water,
my ground steady from His shame. He breaks me, and I seek
Nรผwa for restoration: I tilt eternally, too jaded to reviveโ
Diyu (ๅฐ็)
{Hell}
Confining
47.
lost tunes wander Earthโs mansion, gazing into dire straits
as needles prick this sinnerโs mirror. I yield to atonement. Yama finds
red spider lilies to pick and gift souls, eternal companions,
singing reincarnationโs harmony. The Lotus Sutra carries
omens, mourning eighteen skies. My arrows pierce frigid and fiery purgatories,
creating fertile beginnings in blood. Mortal emotions ache
Note: This poem is in a form invented by K-Ming Chang, and can be read both top-to-bottom and bottom-to-top (left to right). Each stanza is structured in the shape of an I-Ching hexagram based on Chinese divination, and the stanza titles and numbers are also the names of the hexagrams as well.
Kevin Zhu (he/him) is a 17 y/o Chinese-American writer and musician from Long Island, New York. As a poet and journalist, his work has been recognized by INKSOUNDS, COUNTERCLOCK, X-R-A-Y, Bennington College, and Scholastic Writing Awards. He is the editor-in-chief of The Incandescent Review and is often confused with a college student going through a quarter-life crisis.
