Poetry

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“Odd or Even,” “50% Chance of Rain,” and “Moon”

odd or even
Hrant Khachatryan For Unsplash+

Odd or Even

Invisible waves swept through mountains and ridges

Red blinking eyes

Restless in the sky

We heard the humming

Of the fickle algorithms

We engaged with

The titanium rings

The empty driver’s seat

Covered by synthetic leather

So where was it going

At the crossroads

The windblown sidewalks

Weary storefronts

Old street numbers

We, the barefoot pedestrians walking by

Numbers glued on our heels

Odd

Or even

50% Chance of Rain

For days I’ve been waiting

For what I don’t know

Like waiting for rain in winter

Knowing the end—

Probably not

 

The biting wind comes uninvited

Rattling the guardrails beside the freeways

Named by numbers

                    495, 25, 295

Tangled rubber bands

Stretching out

 

Though the weather said a 50%

Chance of rain

Gulls escaped the waterfront

The ocean

Darker than land

 

When the night falls at 100%

On the reed plumes

I stay—

Even if I know what I’ve been waiting

Might not be love

Moon

Midnight rising

The fullest moon

We rushed to the summit

To hold the giant egg yolk

At our fingertips

Was it courage

Or hubris

Sea or abyss

Only the cypress knew

The cliff’s edge

Mist and wind

Haunted us

Like a swirl of smoke mingled

With the silver strings

Of the last glow

Inside a sapphire mirror

Floated the fullest moon

About the Author

Shaomei Yu

Shaomei Yu is a bilingual poet with a passion for capturing life's moments in verse. She moved to the U.S. from China in the 1990s. She believes poetry is a universal language that transcends boundaries and connects people across cultures. Shaomei holds an MS in Industrial Management from Stony Brook University and a BA in Biology from Zhejiang University. Her poems have appeared in Moonstone Press anthologies, Fjords Review, Cathexis Northwest Press, The Raven Review, Jackdaw Press (forthcoming), and other journals.