The Purple Onion

by Yuan Changming

Sitting on
the kitchen counter
It looks like a
stuffed human heart

I stared at it
long the other day, wondering
If a bite of it would
send me back to Eden
(Or correct the error
Of a fallen apple)
Then scribbled a stanza
Not a concrete poem
to mimic its shape
But a philosophical
one to see into its essence

I kept revising
it the same way my fingers
Peel a layer off
another from the onion until
I
found no heart in its heart

Like a life that
has no meaning in it. Like
A speech act. This
very onion poem

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Yuan Changming co-edits Poetry Pacific with Allen Yuan. With 18 published collections and 15 Pushcart nominations, Yuan has appeared in BestNewPoemsOnline, Best of the Best Canadian Poetry (2008-17), and 2,207 other literary publications worldwide. A former poetry juror for Canada's National Magazine Awards, Yuan began to write prose in 2022 and has released a CNF collection (Return to Roots), a novel trilogy (Towards), and two poetry collections (Bamakoola; Museum of Limerence) in 2026.