A Foreigner In The Midland Poem by Cigeng Zhang

In the art of his longing! Nice work.

i agree with my friend poet Daniel only partly... :) the broken porcelain is an allusion to a broken spirit/heart/person, who he helps rehabilitate in the rustic/simple settings... and the sun is glinting in the travelers eyes....who is likened to an eagle who saw froma distance and came in to be there... the observer shows keen interest in the glint/look of the traveler. a deeply romantic and allegorical poem, great compression a masterly short poem beautiful liked

If I'm reading this poem accurately, the foreigner is a lonely traveler who comes across a mess of broken porcelain scraps, and rather than just leaving that ugly trash on the ground, he takes the pieces and assembles mosaics with them on a clay wall. Where there was ugliness he creates beauty. Is one of his creations the picture of an eagle? because the sun reflects on the eagle's shining porcelain eye. This is a labor of love for him and he laughs in sheer delight at his creativity. The passage THE ART OF HIS LONGING reminded me of Leonard Cohen's book which initially started by sojourn with your poems. Leonard Cohen could turn this generous, creative man into a wonderful song!