East Side

“Every corner is suitable for making poetry”, and

Here I sit, a freshly minted poet

In a pagoda on top of a hill

Surrounded by bamboo and birdsong

Overlooking Sunzu’s parade ground.

Artist, scholar, and warrior are all one.

North side

Clouds melted in tea fragrance

Now surrounded by tea bushes and the sound of rock breaking machines.

You have to squint your ears to hear the bird song.

Another corner

In a quiet corner of a pavilion, I remove my under shirt from under my shirt

In search of thermal comfort at midday.

Three men pass by and don’t look: life here is lived on the street.

Had this been Buenos Aires, the whole city would have known of the scandal.

I exposed nothing.

The Pagoda

“Tell aunty ‘hello'”.

Don’t insult the little emperor by teasing that he can’t.

It doesn’t motivate the haizi,

And the parents become indignant.

“He can!”

Xiao hai is happily chasing bugs,

So long as mama and baba are watching.

West side

Cascading rock

To the west, the bird song is joined by the sound of falling water.

Local louts jump carelessly across the creek, where no stepping stones are placed.

Casually standing with a foot on a rock while they check their we chat.

Unless they, too, are writing poetry.

South side

Creek surrounded by verdure

A wizened couple cracking sunflower seeds,

A ladies group laughing loudly,

A man playing traditional tunes on a wooden flute

As his mother practices breathing exercises.

 

Except she wasn’t practicing.

Her head thumps the stone floor

As she falls from her seat.

 

A passerby yells at her husband to not get involved,

Let her save face.

There is a rush for authorities

I put my scarf under her head, my hand on her ribs.

I talk to her gently. In English.

Her son comes. A park guard comes.

Grandma sits up, returns my scarf.

Exit

At the south exit I meet my park companions.

Precious number one son still performs for his adoring parents.

The gang of youths jostle one another to share their screens.

The adoring son gently guides his mother to his scooter.

She gives me a wan smile, and waves as they pass.