Peony, peach-blossom, crane,
flying goddesses in rain;
cloud-pagoda, lotus-girl,
dragon weeping tears of jade…
Cloud-pagoda, lotus-girl,
dragon weeping tears of pearl;
heaven's vapour dissipating,
softening the octagon
where coral columns lift aloft
a roof whose tiles resemble scales,
above an old sage hunched in mist
like gnarled stone pines
on mountain trails, and we
unwind our scarves of flesh
beneath blue birds of happiness,
painted on the inner dome
like swallows nesting, come the spring.
The fountain's silver thread
cups waterlilies' amethyst
rosettes like upside-down umbrellas,
giving carp a place to rest.
Lightning flickers overhead
yang-yin, dry-wet, strong-soft, black-red -
our hands are wings of cranes, are fans...
clouds measure heaven's earthly span.