Writing a Poem Together for Zhou Yangqing, Show Lo and Butterfly

Over the past few days, the hottest topic on social media and in the news has probably been the pig-qing-butterfly love triangle in the cross-strait entertainment world.

Moved by the moment that day, I jotted down an impromptu short poem for Chinese influencer Zhou Yangqing, Taiwanese entertainer Show Lo and Butterfly (Jian Kaile).

Butterfly flits and flies Little Pig oinks and cries Green Poplar drifts on high Evening cicada chatters by Only when their voices resonate is this life not lived in vain

Note: “Evening cicada chatters” could also be written as “spring mosquito buzzes.”

Translation / Notes

• Oink oink: the sound a pig makes.
• Green Poplar: an inversion and homophone of “Yangqing.”
• Evening cicada: a homophone for “poor eyesight,” meaning a failure to judge people clearly; the cicada also refers to the audience watching the show from below the stage, each chattering and embellishing in their own way.

Originally I first wanted to write “spring mosquito” instead of “evening cicada,” meaning to allude to the episode where Deng Huiwen posted against the wind only to have her own affair exposed, but on second thought I let it go.

Well, honestly I don’t have much interest in these messy entertainment-world affairs. The only thing that bothers me is whether Show Lo (Little Pig 🐷) simply doesn’t know how to use punctuation? Reading his posts a few times is enough to make anyone irritable.

Further Reading

1. One-Page Poetry Collection