John Constantine Tobin is an American poet and educator from Maryland, who recently spent two years in Shanghai working as the Narrative Designer for Merfolk Games. He is currently a PhD student in Poetry at the University of Southern Mississippi, but continues to work at Merfolk Games remotely and visit Shanghai frequently.
A Seed of a Similar Climate
As a seed of a similar climate
I might have missed my chance
to germinate by the Pearl River
Foreign to Shanghai’s commerce
I am transactional Mandarin—
two baozi, knifecut noodles, and a savory crepe
I suppose tunneling
inward is a kind
of growth
Humid like the Chesapeake
Shanghai’s wetness also
soaks into my poetry