When the seasons change, and I put on trousers and jackets I haven't worn since last year...
I keep finding old keys
and out-of-date coins
and banknotes for places I'll again never visit
and train and plane tickets for places I've seen
and write-ups for restaurants I'm sure I've not been to
and tissues for colds I thought I'd caught
and ointments and pills for aches I have suffered
and photos of women I once thought I loved
and unfinished novels I couldn't get into
and unstarted poems I can't understand
and bits of string and rubber bands
and rings for parts of my body once pierced
and scarves and hats for fashions once followed
and badges and buttons for isms once hallowed
and ball after ball of odd-smelling fluff
and oh, how heavy my pockets with all this stuff
Friday, 17 December 2010
Monday, 1 November 2010
new verse
and here's the second poem this week [first here]
the Muse(s) provided the last line;
the title derives from the passage in the Confucian “Analects”: 三人行必有我師 (“[when] three men are walking, there is sure to be my teacher”);
the optimist/pessimist bit came from a BBC report last week;
and the rest I got from the “heavenly” and “earthly” behaviour of my dog, Hutian/Hudi(胡天/胡地)
[title] When walking with my dogs,
There is always something new to learn:
From Hutian’s naïve gregariousness,
I’ve learnt to meet strangers with an open heart;
from Hudi’s incessant sniffing,
I’ve learnt not to stick my nose into strangers’ groins.
From Hutian’s adventurous spirit,
I’ve gained my own wanderlust;
from Hudi’s defense of the realm,
I’ve learnt that after a while away, it is always good to return home.
From Hutian,
I’ve learnt that every tree can be my toilet;
from Hudi,
I’ve learnt not to roll in other people’s shit,
and NEVER to eat it.
From Hutian the optimist,
I’ve learnt that my lover going out of the door
does not mean she is leaving me for ever;
from Hudi the pessimist,
I’ve learnt that it probably means she is.
From Hutian’s passion for the simple things in life,
I’ve learnt to enjoy driving a car with my head out the window
or running through knee-deep water after a storm;
from Hudi,
I now know I must not lick my balls when I meet a nice girl.
From Hutian,
I’ve learnt never to bite the hand that feeds me;
from Hudi,
I’ve realised there is a little Oedipus in all of us.
From Hutian,
I’ve learnt to be satisfied with what God puts on the table in front of me;
from Hudi,
I’ve learnt THIS IS NOT ENOUGH.
from both Hutian and Hudi,
I’ve learnt that, within our hectic lives,
we should still take time to stop and smell the piss on the flowers.
the Muse(s) provided the last line;
the title derives from the passage in the Confucian “Analects”: 三人行必有我師 (“[when] three men are walking, there is sure to be my teacher”);
the optimist/pessimist bit came from a BBC report last week;
and the rest I got from the “heavenly” and “earthly” behaviour of my dog, Hutian/Hudi(胡天/胡地)
[title] When walking with my dogs,
There is always something new to learn:
From Hutian’s naïve gregariousness,
I’ve learnt to meet strangers with an open heart;
from Hudi’s incessant sniffing,
I’ve learnt not to stick my nose into strangers’ groins.
From Hutian’s adventurous spirit,
I’ve gained my own wanderlust;
from Hudi’s defense of the realm,
I’ve learnt that after a while away, it is always good to return home.
From Hutian,
I’ve learnt that every tree can be my toilet;
from Hudi,
I’ve learnt not to roll in other people’s shit,
and NEVER to eat it.
From Hutian the optimist,
I’ve learnt that my lover going out of the door
does not mean she is leaving me for ever;
from Hudi the pessimist,
I’ve learnt that it probably means she is.
From Hutian’s passion for the simple things in life,
I’ve learnt to enjoy driving a car with my head out the window
or running through knee-deep water after a storm;
from Hudi,
I now know I must not lick my balls when I meet a nice girl.
From Hutian,
I’ve learnt never to bite the hand that feeds me;
from Hudi,
I’ve realised there is a little Oedipus in all of us.
From Hutian,
I’ve learnt to be satisfied with what God puts on the table in front of me;
from Hudi,
I’ve learnt THIS IS NOT ENOUGH.
from both Hutian and Hudi,
I’ve learnt that, within our hectic lives,
we should still take time to stop and smell the piss on the flowers.
Sunday, 31 October 2010
new verse
a two-poem week, big news in these parts
[ok, not a big deal for my mate MC (http://www.peimic.com/; read the Thursday postings for his poetry) who manages at least two per day]
here's the first (second started, first finished):
(the second is here)
If I'd shaved off all the hairs from my legs,
or not paused to enjoy the sunrise;
If only I’d swum a little bit faster,
I’d be on my way to Las Vegas.
If I’d taken the spanner out of my bag,
or pumped more air in my tires;
If I’d crouched lower cycling into the wind,
I might be going to Las Vegas.
If I’d eaten just one more energy bar,
or maybe eaten one less;
If I’d tucked in tight behind runner seven twenty one,
I wouldn’t be twelve seconds short of Las Vegas.
[ok, not a big deal for my mate MC (http://www.peimic.com/; read the Thursday postings for his poetry) who manages at least two per day]
here's the first (second started, first finished):
(the second is here)
[title] Twelve seconds from Las Vegas
If I'd shaved off all the hairs from my legs,
or not paused to enjoy the sunrise;
If only I’d swum a little bit faster,
I’d be on my way to Las Vegas.
If I’d taken the spanner out of my bag,
or pumped more air in my tires;
If I’d crouched lower cycling into the wind,
I might be going to Las Vegas.
If I’d eaten just one more energy bar,
or maybe eaten one less;
If I’d tucked in tight behind runner seven twenty one,
I wouldn’t be twelve seconds short of Las Vegas.
Sunday, 24 October 2010
Thursday, 14 October 2010
new poem
(from poetry workshop in Didsbury Arts Festival)
Visitors must think you always wore trunks:
Pat's thin, young, athletic husband,
but you didn't of course, just on holiday,
and you weren't athletic and you weren't young
but you were thin,
so when the wasting disease came calling
you had nothing to give but yourself.
Married at 34 and a father at 37, 38 and 40,
you hardly played football with your sons
and never walked the Pennine Way
just swam from rocks once a year
your thin, white limbs dangling from the bright red trunks,
that elicit comments from Pat's fellow residents
She doesn't tell them these were working holidays:
one day of beach for six spent photographing
Northumberland churches
Welsh castles
or Ironbridge's iron bridge
black-and-white slides for your history students
who never saw the trunk-wearing you.
Photo after photo, coast after coast, year after year,
the same red trunks
the same black towel
with red, yellow and blue stripes
getting thinner and thinner
but never replaced.
Visitors must think you always wore trunks:
Pat's thin, young, athletic husband,
but you didn't of course, just on holiday,
and you weren't athletic and you weren't young
but you were thin,
so when the wasting disease came calling
you had nothing to give but yourself.
Married at 34 and a father at 37, 38 and 40,
you hardly played football with your sons
and never walked the Pennine Way
just swam from rocks once a year
your thin, white limbs dangling from the bright red trunks,
that elicit comments from Pat's fellow residents
She doesn't tell them these were working holidays:
one day of beach for six spent photographing
Northumberland churches
Welsh castles
or Ironbridge's iron bridge
black-and-white slides for your history students
who never saw the trunk-wearing you.
Photo after photo, coast after coast, year after year,
the same red trunks
the same black towel
with red, yellow and blue stripes
getting thinner and thinner
but never replaced.
Friday, 24 September 2010
Women in Taiwan Politics
sadly, my comment piece commissioned by Taiwan Today was heavily censored by GIO editors to become a fluff piece stating how good things are in taiwan and how well the ruling party is doing:
State of play: Women’s political representation in Taiwan
•Publication Date：09/24/2010
•Source： Taiwan Today
•By Mark Caltonhill
Taiwan’s upcoming year-end three-in-one municipal elections are poised to show the world that when it comes to integrating gender equality with democracy building, the country stands shoulder to shoulder with other progressive nations on this important issue.
With three female candidates having a strong chance of success in the contests, which are set to take place Nov. 27 in Taipei City and four other newly upgraded special municipalities—Kaohsiung, Taichung, Tainan and Xinbei— now is a good time to examine the political representation of women and, through that, to take a look at Taiwan’s overall democratic health.
Of the candidates, Kaohsiung City Mayor Chen Chu of the Democratic Progressive Party is the most likely to succeed. Chen’s political career goes back to Taiwan’s martial law era and includes a six-year jail stint for participation in the Kaohsiung Incident.
In comparison, Tsai Ing-wen, DPP mayoral candidate for Xinbei City, is a relative newcomer. She only joined the party in 2004, having served in the DPP-led government since 2000 and advising the Kuomintang administration as early as 1993. Nevertheless, in 2008 she was elected as DPP chairperson, the first woman to lead a major political party. Previously, Tsai followed an academic career after studying law.
Former Vice President Annette Lu, Taiwan’s highest-ranking female politician to date, has a background that combines features of those of Chen and Tsai. The daughter of a small businessman, she progressed from an academic and legal background to found Taiwan’s modern feminist movement in the 1970s.
This accomplishment is noteworthy as Lu’s efforts came at a time when women’s organizations were largely a matter of patronage of former first lady Soong May-ling and the KMT. Not surprisingly, this brought her into conflict with the authorities, drew her into opposition politics, and put her in prison alongside Chen.
But of greater relevance to the current overview of Taiwan’s democratic health is that Chen, Tsai and Lu have risen to the top of the political heap, occupying positions of power and influence that are felt in many sections of society. Their achievements are a testament to the strength of Taiwanese culture that tends to acknowledge and reward competency and performance irrespective of gender.
But the success of women in Taiwan’s political circles is not limited to the DPP. Politicians from the KMT such as Christina Y. Liu, who joined the Cabinet in July as head of the Cabinet-level Council for Economic Planning and Development, and Janice Seh-jen Lai, director-general of the Tourism Brureau under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, have garnered headlines for all the right reasons while performing their duties both at home and abroad.
Huang Chao-shun, the KMT candidate in Kaohsiung, is said to be another star in the making, and like Liu, has politics in her blood. Huang is the daughter of Huang Tsun-chiu, a former Control Yuan president, while Liu is the daughter of Kuo Wan-jung, Taiwan’s first female minister of finance.
Another female KMT politician making headlines over the past year is Lee Yong-ping, who recently resigned as Taipei City Deputy Mayor. Her background is unusual in having been a member of the DPP, People First Party and KMT.
With a record number of women currently serving in the Cabinet, statistics reveal the ROC ahead of the international curve. Eight women, or 20 percent, currently serve in the Cabinet, and 34 female legislators, or 30 percent, were elected in 2008. This compares with the worldwide average of 16 percent and close to 17 percent and 22 percent for the U.S. Congress and U.K. Parliament, respectively.
This above-average performance is due in part to provision in the ROC Constitution for quotas of female representatives. Following an amendment in 2005, women are guaranteed at least 50 percent of each party’s legislator-at-large positions, of which there are 34 out of a total 113 seats.
Hopefully, as the 2012 legislative and presidential elections draw nearer, the KMT and DPP will broaden their nets to promote more female politicians. This will enrich the electoral process and continue transforming relations between men and women by promoting the equal distribution of power and influence between the sexes.
Finally, with regard to women’s participation, perhaps some initiatives for family-friendly practices in the Legislature—such as sitting during school semesters and office hours—will allow women to have political careers without sacrificing the right to marriage and children. Such a change will undoubtedly be a boon to Taiwan’s overall democratic health.
Mark Caltonhill is a U.K.-based freelance writer. These views are the author’s and not necessarily those of Taiwan Today. Copyright 2010 by Mark Caltonhill
State of play: Women’s political representation in Taiwan
•Publication Date：09/24/2010
•Source： Taiwan Today
•By Mark Caltonhill
Taiwan’s upcoming year-end three-in-one municipal elections are poised to show the world that when it comes to integrating gender equality with democracy building, the country stands shoulder to shoulder with other progressive nations on this important issue.
With three female candidates having a strong chance of success in the contests, which are set to take place Nov. 27 in Taipei City and four other newly upgraded special municipalities—Kaohsiung, Taichung, Tainan and Xinbei— now is a good time to examine the political representation of women and, through that, to take a look at Taiwan’s overall democratic health.
Of the candidates, Kaohsiung City Mayor Chen Chu of the Democratic Progressive Party is the most likely to succeed. Chen’s political career goes back to Taiwan’s martial law era and includes a six-year jail stint for participation in the Kaohsiung Incident.
In comparison, Tsai Ing-wen, DPP mayoral candidate for Xinbei City, is a relative newcomer. She only joined the party in 2004, having served in the DPP-led government since 2000 and advising the Kuomintang administration as early as 1993. Nevertheless, in 2008 she was elected as DPP chairperson, the first woman to lead a major political party. Previously, Tsai followed an academic career after studying law.
Former Vice President Annette Lu, Taiwan’s highest-ranking female politician to date, has a background that combines features of those of Chen and Tsai. The daughter of a small businessman, she progressed from an academic and legal background to found Taiwan’s modern feminist movement in the 1970s.
This accomplishment is noteworthy as Lu’s efforts came at a time when women’s organizations were largely a matter of patronage of former first lady Soong May-ling and the KMT. Not surprisingly, this brought her into conflict with the authorities, drew her into opposition politics, and put her in prison alongside Chen.
But of greater relevance to the current overview of Taiwan’s democratic health is that Chen, Tsai and Lu have risen to the top of the political heap, occupying positions of power and influence that are felt in many sections of society. Their achievements are a testament to the strength of Taiwanese culture that tends to acknowledge and reward competency and performance irrespective of gender.
But the success of women in Taiwan’s political circles is not limited to the DPP. Politicians from the KMT such as Christina Y. Liu, who joined the Cabinet in July as head of the Cabinet-level Council for Economic Planning and Development, and Janice Seh-jen Lai, director-general of the Tourism Brureau under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, have garnered headlines for all the right reasons while performing their duties both at home and abroad.
Huang Chao-shun, the KMT candidate in Kaohsiung, is said to be another star in the making, and like Liu, has politics in her blood. Huang is the daughter of Huang Tsun-chiu, a former Control Yuan president, while Liu is the daughter of Kuo Wan-jung, Taiwan’s first female minister of finance.
Another female KMT politician making headlines over the past year is Lee Yong-ping, who recently resigned as Taipei City Deputy Mayor. Her background is unusual in having been a member of the DPP, People First Party and KMT.
With a record number of women currently serving in the Cabinet, statistics reveal the ROC ahead of the international curve. Eight women, or 20 percent, currently serve in the Cabinet, and 34 female legislators, or 30 percent, were elected in 2008. This compares with the worldwide average of 16 percent and close to 17 percent and 22 percent for the U.S. Congress and U.K. Parliament, respectively.
This above-average performance is due in part to provision in the ROC Constitution for quotas of female representatives. Following an amendment in 2005, women are guaranteed at least 50 percent of each party’s legislator-at-large positions, of which there are 34 out of a total 113 seats.
Hopefully, as the 2012 legislative and presidential elections draw nearer, the KMT and DPP will broaden their nets to promote more female politicians. This will enrich the electoral process and continue transforming relations between men and women by promoting the equal distribution of power and influence between the sexes.
Finally, with regard to women’s participation, perhaps some initiatives for family-friendly practices in the Legislature—such as sitting during school semesters and office hours—will allow women to have political careers without sacrificing the right to marriage and children. Such a change will undoubtedly be a boon to Taiwan’s overall democratic health.
Mark Caltonhill is a U.K.-based freelance writer. These views are the author’s and not necessarily those of Taiwan Today. Copyright 2010 by Mark Caltonhill
new poem
非知天命
記得我在十歲的時候:
長得像十歲
行為像十歲
愛玩像十歲
跟人相處也像十歲
從那時候開始我仔細地數:
所以我今年應該算五十
[Chinese is 'original'; but here is an English version
On Being Fifty
I remember being ten
looking ten
acting ten
playing ten
relating to people as a ten year old.
I have carefully counted the years since then
which must make me 50 now.
記得我在十歲的時候:
長得像十歲
行為像十歲
愛玩像十歲
跟人相處也像十歲
從那時候開始我仔細地數:
所以我今年應該算五十
[Chinese is 'original'; but here is an English version
On Being Fifty
I remember being ten
looking ten
acting ten
playing ten
relating to people as a ten year old.
I have carefully counted the years since then
which must make me 50 now.
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