*Magnify*
SPONSORED LINKS
Printed from https://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1303101-Summer-Palace-Leviathan
Printer Friendly Page Tell A Friend
No ratings.
Rated: E · Poetry · Other · #1303101
A poem... written in Beijing, China ca. Fall 2006... dedicated to Xiao Yan
Summer Palace Leviathan

We climbed to the top of the Summer Palace
And were greeted by a wall of headless monks
We stood in awe before dusty deathless gods
And sucked in the sweet smell of prayers
We climbed a fence and got lost in the woods
And touched hands where nobles used to play
We watched the sun set slowly over the lake
And walked in the darkness with royal ghosts

'I will not cut my hair until you come back'
You said as lotuses bloomed on your cheeks

Now I sit here lost in a bottle of whiskey
While you wait patiently a world away
I am struggling to remember your face
And your lips and your neck and your hands
They float up and shimmer like ghosts
I reach out for them and they fade away
But your eyes are burning bright X.Y.
They spin like angels around my rooms
Spilling forth bright torrents of flame
© Copyright 2007 C. Lucas Smith (clucassmith at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.
Writing.Com, its affiliates and syndicates have been granted non-exclusive rights to display this work.
Printed from https://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1303101-Summer-Palace-Leviathan