Poetic treasures from Alan Chong Lau

April 17, 2023 / 7:03 am

Each day during the month of April, KUOW is highlighting the work of Seattle-based poets for National Poetry Month. In this series curated by Seattle Civic Poet and Ten Thousand Things host Shin Yu Pai, you'll find a selection of poems for the mind, heart, senses, and soul.

or decades, Alan Chong Lau worked slicing, cutting, and trimming produce at Uwajimaya, while making art and writing poems about his observations of the neighborhood. He chronicled his experiences in a book of poems called "Blues and Greens: A Produce Worker’s Journal."

Alan Chong Lau is a poet, visual artist and arts editor for the International Examiner, a Seattle-based newspaper that covers news, features and the arts for the Northwest’s Asian American community. He is the author of "Buddha Bandits Down Highway 99" (with Lawson Inada and Garrett Hongo), "Songs For Jadina" and "Blues and Greens: A Produce Worker’s Journal."

Matsutake, Living Treasures
Under The Pine

A musk soaks into your pores. Something that pokes its head
from under an icy crust of leaves and pine branches fills the
air with a scent that spells autumn. The deer nibble them for snacks.

The Japanese businessman want to buy them all, squeezing
each head, squinting through a magnifying glass the size of a
sake cup to check for worms.

The nisei woman says, “Takai, takai” (too expensive).
Takes an hour to forage
through the rack to find the best package while her son
looks bored.

The old-timers gather around the specimens, first of the
season, and trade stories about their mushroom hunting days
before arthritic knees and failed eyesight took their toll. They
poke at each one marveling at the size. “Where did they say
they got them? Shelton, Cascades, or Port Townsend? When
we tell them they didn’t say, they all walk away disappointed.

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Shin Yu Pai
Host, Ten Thousand Things

Shin Yu Pai is the current Civic Poet for The City of Seattle (2023-24) and host of KUOW's podcast Ten Thousand Things (formerly The Blue Suit). She is an award-winning writer and visual artist based in Seattle.
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