by Yuan Changming
is not just gold, but also the teeth chewing
the bitterness of life at twilight; the bones
excavated from a lost civilisation; the roof
tiles glazed with the rain of last night; &
the rock standing firm in the gurgling stream
the broken mirror in the debris of history; &
the disk hung like a scarecrow in the garden
the wings of a raven flying in the storm; &
the coal close to a furnace; the forehead
of my late father in my dream; as well
as the scales of a fish jumping out of water
against the starlight; the glacier protruding
from an unknown peak among Rocky Mountains
or, the eye looking beyond the darkness of tonight
***
[Yuan Changming edits Poetry Pacific with Allen Yuan in Vancouver. Credits include Pushcart nominations & publications in Best of the Best Canadian Poetry (2008-17), & Best New Poems Online, among others across 45 countries.]
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