The weakening brightness—

shaking through the clouds

yellow flower petals—

swaying in the haze

still blue above the field        

I couldn’t move a step

near the rim

            of my own swamp

among the ocean

            of wild sunflowers

until a goldfinch

came by—neon yellow—

hovered over my head

before I could

open my hands—it flew away

a sunflower

Shaomei Yu is a bilingual poet with a passion for capturing life's moments in verse. She moved to the U.S. from China in the 1990s. She believes poetry is a universal language that transcends boundaries and connects people across cultures. Shaomei holds an M.S. in Industrial Management from Stony Brook University and a B.A. in Biology from Zhejiang University. She is the author of the Chinese-language poetry and prose collection (Whims of Inspiration), published by Zhejiang Literature and Art Publishing House in 2006. Her recent Chinese poetry has appeared in Taiwan Modern Poetry. Her English poetry has appeared in Fjords Review, Cathexis Northwest Press, The Dewdrop, The Raven Review, Jackdaw Press, Hare's Paw Literary Journal, and The Write Launch, among other publications.