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Little Ache

By Li-Young Lee b. 1957 Li-Young Lee

That sparrow on the iron railing,

not worth a farthing, purchases a realm

its shrill cries measure, trading

dying for being.

It's up to no good,

out to overturn a kingdom

just by swooping into the right kitchen,

or upsetting somebody's aim.

For my pleasure, I'll call it Good News,

or Little Egypt. For my delight,

I'll think of it as needle and thread.

Or a breathing remnant

restored to a living cloth.

Or scissors

trimming lament

to allow for everything I don't know.

For my happiness, I'll call it

Pocket Dictionary Full of Words in Another Language.

For my gladness, Feathered Interval,

The Deciding Gram, Geronimo.

For nothing, Monument to the Nano.

Source: Poetry (December 2007).

Biography

Li-Young Lee was born in Djakarta, Indonesia in 1957 to Chinese political exiles. Both of Lee’s parents came from powerful Chinese families: Lee’s great grandfather was the first president of the Republic of China, and Lee’s father had been the personal physician to Mao Tse-tsung. In Indonesia, Dr. Lee helped found Gamaliel University. Anti-Chinese sentiment began to foment in Indonesia, however, and Lee’s father was arrested . . .

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