Synkroniciti is delighted to welcome Shen Ge, a Chinese-American writer based in the space city of Houston. In addition, Shen is an aerospace engineer, tutor, and hosts a live radio show every Wednesday from 6:30 – 7:00 PM US Central Time called SG2 on Space. His poem “今夜, ” in English “Tonight,” opens the “Space” issue, presented in its original Chinese with a side-by-side English translation. This is a stunning poem, delicate, quiet and full of awe as Shen, blinded by the stars above, looks down to find “I cannot see my body in darkness.” The implications of this simple observation are endless and full of synchronicity, but Shen does not try to elaborate, which would ruin the moment, rather allowing the reader’s mind to pick up on the electricity and mystery of the moment. The second poem, “Return to Sky,” is full of longing for the universe and for the time before mortality began. “Let me forget this pain unwinding inside/ And feel the straight path of joy beyond.” Shen’s energy is electric and contagious, his sense of wonder palpable and alive. His imagery is startlingly simple, but elegantly unwound through clear, luminous language.
Experience “Tonight” and “Return to Sky” in Synkroniciti’s November 30th issue, “Space,” Vol. 5, No. 4, available for purchase here: https://synkroniciti.com/the-magazine/purchase-individual-issues/.
In the vast expanse of the multiverse among countless worlds, a child by the name of Shen Ge was born in the late 20th century in the city of Taixing, China. From an early age, he found his eyes turned towards the sky on a frequent basis when his nose wasn’t in a book. Inspired by the works of others and the stars above, he started writing. The first story he remembered of note was one written in Chinese of African safari animals fighting off poachers from the perspective of these animals. His foray into poetry began around the same time when he enjoyed memorizing and reciting classic poetry both in English and Chinese.
Since then, he has not stopped writing. Shen has self-published two poetry books on Amazon – Simple Words in 2015 and Requiem: The Space Between Words on August 16, 2019. When not being productive, he likes to spend his time journaling, going to art shows, drinking coffee, listening to music, playing video games, reading, or working on cool space stuff.