I live at the foot of Taipei by Maniniwei translated from Chinese by Emily Lu
"I found the lions and tigers of Taipei"
I live at the foot of Taipei
by Maniniwei translated from Chinese by Emily Lu
I live at the foot of Taipei never had a Taipei air conditioner I hear Taipei’s lips have bloomed with the stink of cars Taipei’s nectar turns into cold cutlery turns into rows of steak houses I went to eat the fumes of bath milk the sounds of the upstairs neighbor’s toilet flushing I rode my bicycle to pilfer Taipei’s sunshine netted some Taipei fish I found the lions and tigers of Taipei living in my empty stomach my face living in Taipei grew hungry thirty zebra crossings thirty buses worth of hunger Taipei inserted into the ears inserted into the airway inserted into the heart’s ruckus inserted into swimsuit chlorine slipped into your eyes nose mouth Taipei under construction ten thousand real estate flyers sweep the sidewalks in the rain
“I live at the foot of Taipei” originally appeared in Maniniwei’s poetry collection help me change my bandages《 幫我換藥》published by Dark Eyes Ltd. (黑眼睛文化) in Taiwan in 2020.
This poem feels like someone trying to breathe inside a city that keeps pressing itself into every corner of their life.
The way Taipei shows up in the body in the lungs, the stomach, the senses makes the city feel almost too close, like it’s impossible to escape.
There’s a kind of tired affection running through the lines, as if the speaker loves the place but is worn down by it at the same time.
I felt the hunger in the poem, not just for food but for space, for quiet, for something softer than concrete and fumes.
The images are so vivid sunshine being “pilfered,” fish being “netted,” real estate flyers sweeping the sidewalks it’s the chaos of city life captured perfectly.
The “lions and tigers” in an empty stomach is such a painfully human way of describing how a city can devour you while you’re trying to live in it.
There’s a sense of being overwhelmed, but also strangely connected, like the speaker can’t separate themselves from Taipei even if they tried.
I love how the poem turns everyday noise toilets flushing, traffic, construction into emotional texture.
By the end, you feel the weight of a place that never stops expanding, even as the person inside it feels smaller and hungrier.
It’s raw, intimate, and honest in a way that only someone who has truly lived inside a city can write.
liked this a lot, very tangible!