From the Archive: Yi-Mei Tsiang (CAROUSEL 27)

Staff/ October 5, 2020/ Poem

YI-MEI TSIANG

We Take Our Children Tobogganing

after wrestling with boots and mitts
after packing hot chocolate, teddy grahams, extra socks,
after waiting out the held-breath tantrum over zippers.

We stand at the top, an impasse, clouds of breath
forming a storm over their little woolen-wrapped heads.

Their voices needle us, sharp and small — I don’t wanna — enough to draw blood. I hear the whir of a distant bird, air plunging through its struggling wings.

Some days this is what it is to be a mother; wingless, a cliff, and the choice to push or jump.

(Sarah) Yi-Mei Tsiang is a poet, children’s writer, and all-around generalist when it comes to writing. Her books for children run the gamut from board books, Toesy Toes to YA Breathing Fire, with a whole bunch of picture books in-between. Her poetry books Sweet Devilry (winner of the Gerald Lampert) and Status Update (nominated for the Pat Lowther) are a mix of traditional forms, lyric, and invented forms. She teaches poetry at UBC through the optional residency MFA program. More: sarahtsiang.com

We Take Our Children Tobogganing
appeared in CAROUSEL 27 (2011) — buy it here