by KELLY ZEN YIE-TSAI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4fK-BPpsaA&feature=youtu.be
YG Poem-like thing JUNE2012 – From “Formosa,” inspired by the history of Barbie doll manufacturing in Taiwan (1967-1987). (Btw, there are funnier, crazier bits, but this section’s rhythm – I keep returning to:)
Yes, sir.
I know how to make the perfect doll.
Two hundred fifty legs per hour.
Fifty thousand heads per day.
Three hundred sixty five days per year without stop.
Cousin Bao Bao was fired for trying to steal a doll.
She hid it in her bellbottoms.
She tried to throw it in the rice fields, but she got caught.
Bell bottoms are nowhere to hide a doll.
Yes, sir. I know how to make the perfect doll.
Two hundred fifty legs per hour.
Fifty thousand heads per day.
Two day’s pay.
That’s what it’s worth.
Yes sir. I understand.
That one doll.
Kelly Tsai’s website is Yellow Gurl