Literate Literature

wo hen ni

This is a poem I wrote when I was angry at myself. It deals with the weirdness of the word "hen" in mandarin. I am not an expert but I'm pretty sure that "wo hen ni" means "I hate you" but "wo hen ai ni" means " I love you very much". It's basically free verse.

I hate you?!

I hate you so much

Because you can't spell properly,

Your grammar is botched

But you can catch other people out outstandingly.

Some days I feel like you're worthless

You can't do anything I want you to do,

Can't dance, sing or act, it causes me stress

And also some days I want you to end, you don't.

Is it possible to hate yourself like this?

That you can't love others as yourself?

I also hate how you treat others without a miss

Of a beat you come to their rescue in stealth.

But do I hate you really

Or is this my disguise of love,

As I actually cherish you sweetly

Without a care in the world for hate.

Tsim, age 15

post scriptum: The picture was from Google's Earth Day quiz about which animal I was and I got pangolin.