Alice O. Howell
CHINESE WATERCOLORS:
Late afternoon
Last bridge but one
what forces me across?
I linger mid-arch
and watch the playful waters go
with what a sense of loss!
Ceremony
Smile.
Ceremony departs one door
at the touch of wonder
and re-enters another
barefoot with discretion
it has begun.
The Doe
A doe
nibbling on green shoots
of joy
searching for them
painfully
among the thorns
and bitter weeds
every time I see you
my soul feeds.
Landscape with three figures
Look at her!
look at Mei Ling
we all know her
as she works in the field
fat and funny under her yoke
her children are grown
and she would have it known
that when young Chang
leaned against her barren plumtree
love spoke!
Poets in a Marketplace
Why are poets
such exhibitionists?
standing misshapen in tatters
they only advertise
their own poverty
yet, they chant endlessly
in the marketplace
that life is more than living!
indeed, they are a sorry lot
foisting their gifts upon us
how do they deem them
worth the giving?
A. O. Howell