the bird on fire

The Bird is the Word: Sophisticated Schoolyard Shenanigans

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Dream of a Rhododendron

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As the days turn, our emotions come and go. Blogger Quintus writes his poem “Dream of a Rhododendron,” which discusses one’s future reality through experiencing love and hard times and how one can bloom from them like a brilliant rhododendron.–Alternate Realities Editor Hannah Hall

By Quintus Ni

Plant a dream, spring, summer, autumn and winter

bloom all over
Red, pink, yellow, white
Love

Hide yourself with your mind and soul
A pink time, the gap of the city
The vine full of life

Returning from the world of mortals, night overflows

Painful thoughts

Powder and red boil time, day and month
Constantly add, the bitterness and honey of life

Sooner or later, delay
A brilliant Rhododendron
Time brewed joys and sorrows, drink
White and yellow nectar, my body

Fill up
The poison of love
One, two, three
Crumble, a piece of time
Red dream, a bird
Come back every night

Alternate Realities Editor: Hannah Hall

Welcome to 2021~

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Direct from Shanghai, Quintus gives us a poetic prediction for 2021.

By Quintus Ni

I see

Your hand goes through your hair

Time starts
distance

The sun comes with the storm
The golden arrow becomes the winter straw

All over the earth


Your shadow is laughing
The shadow of the jungle flew across the sky
The desire of darkness breathed heavily
A conch tossed to the sand bank by a huge wave

Whine in the Atlantic wind


My hand reaches for your breath
To the unknown destiny
Fingers burning lonely
Make a crackling sound
The bow and arrow pointed to the sky
Ready to hit the thick clouds


be quiet
Time has lost its wings
Floating eyes
Anxious, quiet, angry, happy
The world begins
The sky is closed
Stop today
Everything is waiting


In 2021
Waiting for the dreams
Climb down from the moon or the sun
Into the hard ground
enter
This strong island
Make true, and be yourself
Welcome to 2021~

2021 Predictions Editor: Sara Habibipour

Long forgotten the beauty of the world

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Our international correspondent Quintus sends us aesthetic poetic images from Shanghai.

By Quintus Ni

Long forgotten the beauty of the world
A piece of emerald falling into the lake
The trembling lake was at a loss
On this rainy afternoon


You come, it stops
It’s green and there’s a little commotion
Feeling of summer, enjoying the cool in this emerald park
Raindrops falling into the lake, children playing with umbrellas in their hands


Clouds cover the green and astringent mountains in the distance
Making coffee, egrets beat the dusk sky
I can’t remember how many fish there are in the lake
How beautiful are the flowers in the four seasons? How fragrant are the water lilies
under the bridge.


Your neck is still a touch of verdant, is indifferent emerald, I skimmed the light and
shadow of the wall, quietly disappeared, no longer sorry. When the moonlight slowly
spread out the palm, the darkness is still so warm, the night is so soft.


If one day can remember, true still, can learn from the sun and the moon, just walk on
the street, is empty, do not look back on the past, also do not stay in the heart. Only a
curtain of bleak wind, and cover the heart of the slender hands.

Aesthetic Editor: Elizabeth Shay

Scary in Verse

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And, for our final Scary Stories post, our International Correspondent Quintus shares a scary poem.

By Quintus Ni

Pale night, dim candle
Old man of old roots
Spit out your teeth, and say
One year and one month, bones grew out of the soil
Crow, wind, open mouth of grave
Full moon in branches
Dead willow by water
A skinny barking dog outside the village
The moonlight cleans the windows silently
Like a cold hand
Children dare not dream
I always think, what’s out there
Quietly, walking
It’s hanging from the top of the tree
It’s the ghost of grandfather
Or mom’s sleeves?
That night
Silence darkens the night
The room is empty
nothing in the world

Scary Stories Editor: Erik Bearman

Quintus says “Good Bye”～

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The school year, this strange year, is at an end. Quintus is off in quarantine in Shanghai. Before he left for home, he wrote this “goodbye.”

By Quintus Ni

Let the wind blow; let the rain fall; let years change; quietly stay in the fleeting time; fearless to the world’s vicissitude. To the end of mountains and seas, the most unforgettable one, in dreams, there you are, keeping your faith.

In a delicate world, with your promise to me, you held up the sky above your head, muttering to yourself with a few thoughts, constantly seeping, the sea of hearts from outside of the world.
 
Now I am, looking at the sky blue, with drops of tears, waiting for the wind, yet fascinated by the wind, facing the shadow, but feeling dizzy because of the shadow. I’m sad but the sadness won’t decrease. I’m missing someone, but that person hasn’t come back. Looking back again, the road is far. Holding on to the broken dream, I still won’t let it go.

A hot heart, with hot feeling, through the dreams of youth. Standing in this secular world, even if the mountains are high, I must see it all. I am not afraid of thick snow, long autumn rains, waiting for the warm spring, spreading the sun in summer, until once again into the covered, left edge of the dream.

Hold a pot of tea, standing under the eaves. Look away at the falling leaves. Quietly watch the change of clouds. Carefully listen to the breeze, ringing through the screen window. Life’s hardship and honor become nothing important.

However, in the dreams who would know time has a limit? Flying flowers scatter like smoke. In the hot air above the tea, even memories are like wisps of smoke. They emerge then disappear, gradually fade out, down the long road.

When the scent that flows into the bone marrow is swallowed, from time to time there come waves of bitterness, like those deep and shallow memories, suddenly bright then suddenly dark. When I’m not paying attention and shaking the body of the cup, the tea leaves rise and dance, float and sink, trying to find their position. Perhaps it’s because they are not resigned to the calmness. I repeatedly stir the bottom of the cup. Isn’t life like this, go back and forth, until the water is clear, which can be known by one glance. But the life always twists and turns, when the world washes away the dust, purifies, creates a completely sober self, not because we lose too much, but try to find a best balance point that belongs to oneself in this lifetime.

We are often walk in this world, afraid to be stung by this world. I suddenly no longer ask the truths.

The fragrance of flowers is slightly light after the rain. Facing hesitation, counting the torments, beside helplessness, listening to the heart, in the end one discovers, the life of a person is nothing more than being ordinary. Looking at the tea turning over and over, around for a few circles, and back to the original point of purity. The truth is, after growing up, looking back, it has long been destined that people’s lives are like a process of running around a circle.

The Last Editor: Katelin Slosky

My Happiness—Always remember “us” this way

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By Quintus Ni

I remember once my grandma told me that being close is a kind of warmth, and sometimes a gentle glance, a simple greeting that can make the hearts rely on each other through the long years.

There have always been some longings in the world. You smile at me, I hug you back, that’s when we start to understand each other, and our lonely souls are no more feeling cold. Even though some encounters don’t last long, the fragrance in the heart still lingers.

We are all lonely people on this lonely road; even a hero needs company. Under the roof of endless time, I hope there could be someone who has elegance deep inside, so we could cherish each other only because of pure appreciation and the ability of feeling each other’s heart, not because of romance and lust.

The encounters in the world are both random and predestined.

In the stream of time, we are all late arrivals.

Who’s the one standing on the water edge writing down his missing poem? Who’s the one longing to get back to the time when we talk into the deepest night? How many times and poems does it take to let two hearts warm together?

Sometimes, you go through a lot of trouble to find someone, but the person who is holding on to you never comes; however, the person you are destined to be with is smiling at you at the next junction of life.

We all get a chance to meet each other and to stay with each other. The chances come and go. There are times you try hard to leave the one who is always holding you dear. There are times the one you hold dear has never wanted you near.

It’s hard to meet someone in your life who understands you; sometimes all you’re thinking about is a name and an expectation.

Time is a blossoming tree. It spreads its fragrance when the wind comes. Memories can be framed into a picture and written into a poem with your heart, and every time you think on them, you’ll be touched by the encounters again. 

Pure love is hard to find. If you meet a ray of sunshine, you can have a bright season, and if you can meet the right person, you can be warm for life.

The best encounter should be between two clear hearts and in the warmth of time. The simplest companionship is to be with the one you love, and the most beautiful encounter is to walk through thousands of mountains and rivers, through the wind and smoke of the years. I can still remember your smile.

Time is beautiful. If I plant a sun in the spring, I get to be warmed when winter comes.

As time passes, we’ve been meeting with each other. There are always some people, who refuse to throw away a withered flower and refuse to close the umbrella even when the rain stops. There’s always some cherishing, hidden deep in the silence, accumulating strength in loneliness.

How are we to speak if we are far from each other? The best love can make the lonely soul bloom. Every life needs warmth and companionship. How can you forget falling at the first sight? The tenderness and bravery of love are all just for putting love and sunshine somewhere with you.

The beauty of life lies in the encounters. Perhaps the life paths and the people I’ll meet are already written in the plan of the universe, but, still, I look forward to meeting someone whose heart string plays the same way with mine, even if I only get a smile, that’s enough beauty for me to remember. And to meet someone who understands, even if I only get a glance, that’s enough treasure for me.

The best encounter is to hide love deep in your heart and only wish each other well. If you can meet the right person in your life that would be like meditating under flowers, which paints a beautiful base and gives kind warmth for the time. After years of climbing and wading, there will always be a person in your heart, who has been there forever and silently warms your life.

Happiness Editor: Chelsea

Doomsday Poem

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Love Billy Collins? Well, this isn’t quite Billy Collins. It’s Quintus Ni’s take on the end of the world. Says Shirley Sun, “A little bit dark, but it’s very attractive. LOVE the last part of this poem!!”

By Quintus Ni

Tilting earth,

Churning sea,

Erupting volcano,

Doomsday is coming.

Life is approaching an end:

Carnival!

The city’s dignity is falling;

The proud civilization is crying:

Crazy!

The heaven and the earth change their position.

The sun is no more rising.

Everything is swallowed unscrupulously by water and fire.

The monsters are busy escaping

With no time left for  biting.

Proud and humble

Are fleeing on the road.

Truth, kindness and beauty, and the false, the ugly and the evil

All destroyed together,

With only a pile of ruins remaining,

Nothing is left.

And there’s no room for brash fire.

Everything is in peace.

No hunger or war–

No more suffering or tears will be left.

I am sitting at the luxurious crystal table

Enjoying the last supper

And appreciating the collapsing world

As if it is a wonderful drama–

That rebirth in despair

Accompanied by the violent symphony.

Doomsday Editor: Doreen Yuan

Quintus’s Love for All Things Romantic: Wuthering Heights

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When Editor James asked the Blog Staff, “What’s your favorite book?” Quintus responded with Wuthering Heights.

By Quintus Ni

When there is love in your heart, everything is beautiful in your eyes; when there is darkness in your heart, everything is ugly. In Wuthering Heights, by Emily Brontë, the hero Heathcliff, who became hostile because he couldn’t get love, performs a lot of unsympathetic revenge. However, he finally gets a release because of the power of love.

The wilderness, the west wind, the distant towns, the broken grass, the rough terrain, the bleak sunset, the sequestered life, the hard journeys, the lonely years, all that Emily Brontë had, had no glory — at least in the days of her life — she went though twists and turns, ups and downs, and with her dreams died.

This talented woman who died young would never have imagined that, after her death, Wuthering Heights, her only novel, would be remembered as the “most peculiar novel” and become one of the brilliant precious gems of British literature of the 19th century. Today, it has still won over millions of readers with its magnificent and moving splendour, who are deeply shocked by its special artistic charm.

All the time I was reading, I was wondering whether Cathy loved Edgar. If yes, how could she love another, when she loved Heathcliff so strongly and so deeply? Through repeated perusal of her words, I have come to understand that she liked Edgar, as I like Edgar, for he is handsome, rich, young, and active.

The love between Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw can be described as “infatuation.” The sunshine, sweetness, and laughter are not the main part of their love, while the dark hatred, misunderstanding and resentment are mixed into the main color of their love, creating their crazy love.

Heathcliff is me, said Catherine, and I am him….This kind of love was not understood, accepted, or allowed by others, so they constantly struggled, fighting with everything around them, but they were tortured and bullied in the real life, as Heathcliff was treated as an inferior, a wild child without status, background or cultivation, who was deprived of the right to enjoy a good life, rudely beaten and insulted for his street urchin’s humble birth. He had given up all hope of being a decent gentleman. And Catherine was an honorable young lady.

Emily Brontë deliberately created an eerie, nightmarish, exaggerated atmosphere. Some of the plots seem to have queer mystique from an unreal world. The soul, the ravings, the hallucination, and the nightmare give the story a layer of legend, incisively and vividly showing the deepest infatuation, the most crazy persistence, and the most painful struggle. The wind and rain, the snow, the night, the wild nature and the stirring emotions of the characters complement each other. The bleak wilderness is profound, changeable, gloomy and sorrowful, which highlights the personality traits of the characters and shows the deep love from human nature. The impermanence and boundless love of the hero, Healthcliff, like nature, takes a deeper root in the hearts of characters and readers. With her exquisite thoughts and feelings and the superb artistic techniques, Emily Brontë created a soul-stirring tear-jerker with strong artistic appeal. In this way, Wuthering Heights made Emily Brontë well-known all over the world.

Favorite Book Editor: James Zheng

Cold Weather Exercise

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Should we have one last cold snap before summer hits, or if you’re exercising in high altitude coldness, Quintus has some advice about when and how you exercise.

By Quintus Ni

The weather is very cold in winter. Many people like to exercise in this season to strengthen their ability to resist the severe cold, and these people like to exercise in the morning. However, it is not good to exercise on winter mornings. This is not the best time to exercise, even if you insist on exercising at this time every day, you will hurt yourself. What is the right way to exercise? We should choose the best time to exercise according to the following popular science.

Many people blindly think that exercising in the early morning in winter not only allows for the breathing of fresh air, but also improves their body’s cold resistance.

First of all, getting up early on a winter morning is harmful. The cleanliness of the air changes with the seasons; in winter, the cleanliness of the air is the worst of the four seasons, especially before 8 am and after 5 pm. Because the ground temperature on winter mornings is lower than the temperature of the air, an “inversion layer” forms and causes the dirty air to stay close to the ground where it is hard to dilute and diffuse. Pollutants drift in the lower air, and there are fewer green plants in winter to dilute the pollutants. If you exercise at this time, pollutants will be inhaled through the respiratory tract. Therefore, the best time for winter exercise should be around 10 a.m.

In addition, winter exercise should be carried out when there is no fog. Fog is a mass of tiny water droplets floating in the low air on the surface of the earth, and many harmful substances are dissolved in these water droplets, and harmful solid particles such as dust and pathogens are also absorbed in it. If you do strenuous exercise in the fog, these harmful substances will be inhaled a lot, which may cause many diseases.

Due to the cold of winter, the body’s fat content increases compared to other seasons, and body weight and body circumference have increased accordingly. Therefore, winter exercise should increase the number of actions and frequencies. We should increase our aerobic exercise, and extend our exercise time accordingly to improve function and consume body fat.

It turns out that the best time to exercise in winter is not in the early morning or in the evening, but at ten o’clock in the morning. Other times are not suitable for people to exercise at all, because there will be a lot of pollutants at those times that won’t help your health and build your body.

Winter Sport Editor: Chelsea

My Morality is being honest to myself forever

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“Very deep and insightful. It made me look into myself a little deeper. I loved it.”–Gerry Dobbins

By Quintus Ni

Time passes like flowing water and disappears silently. When I quiet down and look back, I find that people always sigh deeply at certain moments.

They sigh for some things, some people, or some little experiences……

Then, I come to the conclusion that actually life is not easy, and each person has their own embarrassments. When you try to understand the past and don’t mind your embarrassment anymore, something called compassion will appear in your heart. When you learn to accept your merits and demerits, it means that you are also making peace with the world.

“What does not kill you makes you stronger.”

I didn’t believe this sentence before. I thought it was just a typical motivational quote, until I experienced some things. I have to admit that some “bad” experiences are not necessarily bad, because they at least taught me something.

Every day is new because people experience different things. When you learn to consider and summarize what has happened in your life, your views will gradually become deeper and deeper, and naturally you will come to your own unique ideas of life and morality.

After you experience something, you will be rewarded with gains, feelings, and wisdom.

It is just like traveling. If you go out to see more, naturally you will have a broader vision and mind. Meanwhile, you will be more aware of what you long for most and what the things most worth cherishing and pursuing are. Therefore, it makes sense that senior citizens often say that the more you have experienced, the more you have gained.

I remember in my younger days, when I argued sharply if someone slandered me; I replied angrily if someone misunderstood me; I refuted with more vicious words if someone insulted me……

I was definitely an extremely direct person with sharp characteristics, successfully making myself the person I hate the most.

But later, I learned to adjust my mind positively, and finally understood that no matter how good you are, there are always some people who don’t like you. The world won’t reward you equitably for what you have paid, and it won’t treat you in the same way even if you did treat others kindly.

It is life and its experiences that has made me peaceful, setbacks and difficulties that made me positive, and the people of the world that made me tolerant.

I gradually learned to accept and face everything calmly, treat the people around me more kindly, and be undisturbed no matter what happens. In this way, I slowly taste life and settle myself in time.

Fairness and unfairness are common in life. But it’s uncommon that you can still remain humble, peaceful, kind, and optimistic after you experience much.

Someone once said that your calmness comes from your past innocence, and that your kindness comes from your past sadness and uneasiness. I look back and find this to be absolutely true.

Even the most irritable people will gradually become gentle and patient if they are polished by time. We’ll eventually grow from those years when we got angry and listened to no one’s advice. Then we will smile and accept it all, good or bad. An ancient saying says to remain indifferent and leisurely watch the flowers bloom and fade.

Eventually, we may no longer be as imperious, impulsive, and carefree as in our childhood days, but we’ve already known the width and thickness of life.

We have cried, laughed, lost, doubted, and hesitated along the way……But, finally, we have learned to regard everything as growth.

Maybe this is what life should be!

You live up to time, and time lives up to you.

Morality Editor Luke Langlois