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Line Pieces in a Classroom

By 

Changming Yuan

  1.  Mathematics        

       The shortest distance from      

       Or to any point, whether it is

       Measurable or not

  1.  Physics        

       How afar from one another      

       The other quantum will be dancing

       In the same way as the untwisted one

  1. Semiotics        

       If a solid line stands for yang [penis]

       And a broken one for yin [vagina], can we

       Have a dotted line for a hermaphrodite in bagua?

  1. Sociology        

       Related or not

       Like father like son, or

       Unlike daughter, unlike mother

  1. Genetics        

       Only the female can carry on the genes

       Of a female ancestor; that’s why only God

       Became the father of man      

  1. Poetry        

       If ever I had a single line

       Left unwritten, it will be

       Composed in my entire next life

Quiz question:

What does the yang and the yin stand for?

The moon and the sun

The moon and the sun

The penis and the vagina

The penis and the vagina

The dark and the light

The dark and the light

The sea and the land

The sea and the land

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Issue 7

published 

September 22, 2017

Line Pieces in a Classroom was written by Changming Yuan, who is a 9-time Pushcart nominee and one-time Best of the Net nominee, started to learn English at age 19 and published monographs on translation before moving out of China. Currently, Changming edits Poetry Pacific with Allen Yuan in Vancouver, and has poetry appearing in Best Canadian Poetry, BestNewPoemsOnline, Threepenny Review and 1239 others.

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Issue 7

This writing was originally published in Opium Magazine, and is not listed in the Lit.cat archives.
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