Winshen Liu
Poetry
Winshen Liu is a Taiwanese American writer who has worked in various roles in non-profits, education, and tech. Her writing has appeared in Santa Fe Writers Project Quarterly, and Raft, and is forthcoming in Gordon Square Review. She hopes to one day raise three rescue dogs at once and live near mountains.
自強號 (zì qiáng hào)
I heated leftovers for lunch today.
The lid sweat
as Taiwan arrived
in steam: jasmine
rice that had slept with
a braised egg, cabbage and carrots
woken up from a nap.
The office courtyard steeped
in the high light of a young sun,
one that had not yet seen the western
window of a southbound train, where
an aproned woman pushes
a cart of warm boxes car to car, asking
if you need one in song.
“ Paper boxes of fresh-cooked, warm meals usually featuring one protein and 2-3 vegetable dishes over rice are a classic part of the Taiwanese rail travel experience. I was enjoying my own packed lunch at work (in the States) one day when the smell transported me to Taiwan. 自強號 is one of the main train lines there and one I take to visit family, so I wrote this poem to capture this aroma-inspired nostalgia. ”