I watch the words
coming out
from your mouth
interested
less in content
than in you
your handling of it
and its of you
I listen to expressions
animating
your features
hearing what
you don’t voice
echoes from
sublingual spaces
or somewhere else
further inside
Would you prefer
love
eyes and ears
less resistant
to conventional use
Shelly Bryant divides her year between Shanghai and Singapore, working as a teacher, writer, researcher, and translator. She is the author of two volumes of poetry, Cyborg Chimera and Under the Ash, and a travel guide to the city of Suzhou entitled Suzhou Basics. Her third volume of poetry, Voices of the Elders, and her travel memoir, The End Of The Line, are slated for release in 2012. Her most recent projects include writing an updated guide to the city of Shanghai for Urbanatomy and translating Sheng Keyi’s novel 《北妹》 (Northern Girls) for Penguin Books.
Shelly’s poetry has appeared in journals, magazines, and websites around the world, as well as in several art exhibitions, including dark ’til dawn, Things That Disappear, and Studio White • Exhibition 2011. You can visit her website at http://shellybryant.com.
