I was once took with a Chinese pirated version of the Parker pen that they
renamed Hero Pen when living in Warsaw in the 70's and wrote this poem[ in
its praise. Published in Tiepin Eros which unfortunately Bloodaxe has
deleted from their list amongst others to make way for the OUP ditched list.
Tom P
mY peN
holds steady in my right hand
black, with a silver top
and tight gold nib
my hero pen
made in the People's Republic of China
and purchased in Warszawa
by my wild, cloud-haired, Polish wife
with apple green eyes
and twenty faces
my hero pen
joins vertical strokes
to curved and looping horizontals
sucks noisy and quick
when dipped in black India ink
my hero pen
speaks slim volumes
running its incised beak
along prescribed lines
my hero pen
feels good between
finger and thumb
my hero pen
purchased in Dom Ksiazki,
on Nowi Swiat
where walls of books
are dripping ink
and threaten to flood whole streets
my ebony black, silver topped
Golden Star, Seven O Five
Chinese hero pen
looks good
with a blue and chrome
Three Seven One
YEUN CHANG-
made in Changhai,
comma,
China-
best quality,
swivel type stapler
with four different uses
my pen writes adverts
for its comrades
my pen shouldn't get
too smart
My pen's ink
is the distilled dream
of fifty thousand million workers
weary with clocking-in
and clocking-out,
signing-on
and signing off:
enslaved to machinery
of industry
and state.
my pen refuses to recognize
obsolete forms of government
and votes with its feet
my pen wants to manage
its own affairs
thinking it knows best:
my pen demands
complete autonomy
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