He always seemed a bit naïve
This bony man, this towering reed;
But he sang wh such boyish élan
This old man who made his banjo twang;
...
'I don't want to die, ' she sighed,
An old woman with a look of fear,
Making friends at 84,
Afraid she'd disappear;
...
Words spoken without passion's breath
Mocks the receiver as in a jest;
Exchanging mere formality
As substance for sincerity.
...
I lie awake and hear the shifts
Alter as I dream and drift
Mixing wish with long nightmares,
Cursing as I'm made aware
...
The deer ate my tulip tops
Sheared them off, their petals cropped;
The blazing reds, the yellow creams,
Have disappeared as in a dream;
...
In the Stateless prison of Liao Yiwu,
Where class has been abolished,
There are always slaves to shine your shoes,
Fresh blood is used as polish.
...
This uncertain world that we inhabit
Has the staying power of a rabbit
Who poses perfect in the glade
With nervous sniffing in the shade.
...
The herons cry, the sea gulls screech,
In the graying light of dawn
I come upon a sandy form;
And reaching down I almost toddle,
...