O Pin Yin Sonnet (28)

by John Yau

They cannot say that they invented the atom bomb
They keep crickets in cages and listen to frogs
They don’t like to use a knife and fork
They don’t drink milk and prefer to eat pigs
They use a different horoscope than the one in the Sunday newspaper
They cry when no one is looking and they don’t count their tears
They don’t write words that can be translated into English
They brush in their suns with dusty black ink
They know how to stop juices from flowing to the brain
They claim to have invented spaghetti but they don’t eat waffles
They like to keep their old people alive as long as possible
They venerate the dead as if they were still sitting beside you
They spit on the sidewalk while talking with their friends
Their hair is great for wigs and they are good at manicuring