If the Name Is Not Right

By Yuan Changming

Says Confucius, the speech

Will carry no might, or something

To this effect, but I do not care

Nor will I put up any fight

If you call me chink, chinaman

Oriental, ching chong, dog-eater

Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan

Jeremy Lin, Yao Ming, Ling Ling

Even Jap or Gook while pulling

Your eyes back. Whatever name

You call me, my words do not

Go right, since English is never

My mother tongue, after all

Yuan Changming co-edits Poetry Pacific with Allen Yuan. With 16 published collections and 15 Pushcart nominations, Yuan has appeared in Best of the Best Canadian Poetry (2008-17) and 2,207 other literary publications worldwide. A former poetry juror for Canada's National Magazine Awards, Yuan began to write prose in 2022 and released a cnf collection (Return to Roots) and novel trilogy (Towards) in Feb, 2026.