Guangzhou
Motherland stories abound
valorising the act of return, of
tasting char siu streetside &
recalling the score-toned tongues
of forefathers when asking
for the wi-fi password. But
revelations are easily lost
in air travel. Here powdered
milk trickles sweet, frog meat tough
between molars. Commuters push
hard, the piqued buzz of mmmhgoi
radiating from creaky windpipes.
It’s in our blood, baba says. As
his corneas mist seeing
gutted bike trails, pastel boba
stands caressing antique corners that
were once lovers. He turned away
to squeeze honey from
foreign dishcloths & their affections
grew buoyant. Outsizing us.
About the author
Claire Cao is a 21-year-old aspiring fantasy writer and avid soup dumpling-lover from south-west Sydney. You can check out her work in Voiceworks, The Lifted Brow, Co-Curious’ Behind Closed Doors program and the upcoming anthology Sweatshop Women. She also tweets (a lot) @clairexinwen.
