william-marr
Illinois
Born in 1936 in Taiwan and spent his childhood in mainland China, Chinese-American poet William Marr (Fei Ma) has published 21 books of poetry and five books of Chinese translations of Western modern poetry. He has also edited several anthologies of Chinese and Taiwanese modern poetry. A scientific researcher by profession, he served as the president of the Illinois State Poetry Society from 1993 to 1995. In recent years, he has also pursued other artistic interests including painting and sculpting.
I laugh a thousand laughs
in the morning wind
My whole body shakes and trembles
with joy
I know it’s you, dear
casting my shadow to the ground
Your passionate gaze burns
upon my nape
Oct 31, 2025
Oct 31, 2025 at 2:24 PM UTC
sticking its feet deeply
into the brown earth
it becomes
a persistent tree
no matter how fierce and strong
the wind and rain can only shake down
a few irrelevant pieces of
leaves
Oct 29, 2025
Oct 29, 2025 at 7:36 PM UTC
with an unadorned voice
not too high
not too low
in front of my window
twitter tweet
twitter tweet
informs me
today
is my birthday
Oct 18, 2025
Oct 18, 2025 at 4:58 PM UTC
a broken refugee boat appears
like a ghost
on the tired sleepless eyelids
jolting and rolling
toward the ever-narrowing harbor
of humanity
toward the shore
where lights die out
one after another
Sep 29, 2024
Sep 29, 2024 at 8:36 PM UTC
with every step
the pretentious
new shoes
jeer
at the memory
of
the old
Sep 5, 2024
Sep 5, 2024 at 11:18 PM UTC
A bundle of bills
could buy
a flattering
smile
not long ago
Now
a bundle of bills
can buy
more than
one flattering
smile
Sep 5, 2024
Sep 5, 2024 at 11:15 PM UTC
rushing up through the feet
a steady flow of fresh vitality
coming from Mother Earth
eventually pushes out of the body
the stagnant air
-- stale, insipid, musty, mildewy, and stinking
that has accumulated overnight
no, over the entire life
look
in the melodious music
bright smiles are blooming
one after another
on the faces of the dancers
who are getting younger
and younger
with every poetic move
Aug 31, 2024
Aug 31, 2024 at 5:35 PM UTC
as torrents of water
roll and crush
and the sky
stiffens its dark face
the narrow-minded dam knows
it's time to shut its gate
behind the flood
there will be gushing waves
of human tears
Aug 31, 2024
Aug 31, 2024 at 5:16 PM UTC
seeing the industrious, restless robots
take away their jobs
smart human beings
finally come up with a smart plan
working from 9 to 9
including Saturdays
(this is only a beginning)
see who is more robotic
Aug 31, 2024
Aug 31, 2024 at 5:10 PM UTC
suffering from homesickness
he returns to his homeland
returning to his homeland
he suffers from homesickness
there’s nothing he can do about it
there’s nothing he can do about it
Feb 9, 2021
Feb 9, 2021 at 10:27 PM UTC