By
Sunil Sharma
I
Dragon
Fire-breathing creature.
Myth— for the rest.
Material being—for the Chinese.
It drives them to seek power.
How real is the symbolic in that land!
II
Music
In an elegant square
Under a sloping roof
South side
An absorbed man playing the saxophone—
To an invisible audience.
Harmonious notes floating
In the hot evening air
Like birds in a clear sky.
III
Square dancing
Same wide square
Same summer evening.
Old and young guys dancing.
Music.
Dance.
Community.
Joy of being alive
In a public place—
Uplifting sight!
IV
Back
The birds are back.
On the campus of the Tianjin University.
Seeking nests in the tall trees
Nodding to the wind like buddies.
Chirping birds enlivening the academic scene.
Feathered beings— tiny
Breaking into the stratosphere
Like dreams moving up.
V
Willow trees
Heavy-lidded
Like a Mongol child
Drooping—
A walrus-like being
The willow trees
Arranged in a series
On a sweeping highway
Waving at the traffic.
VI
The moon
Odd!
The moon.
It reminds of home.
It shines identically
On every part of the earth.
Freely roaming.
It needs no visas to visit a crowded and divided planet!
VII
Fishing
On the canal
A man bent in a canoe
Fishing quietly
On a still morning.
From the distance— like the hand- scroll painting “Fisherman”
Etched on the waters by the master
Wu Zhen.
VIII
Flowers on the desk
Artificial.
The varied bunch
Artistically arranged
In the interlinked patterns.
Zero fragrance.
Stale-free.
Beyond death.
A Huang Gongwang painting
Spread out on a teak desk in a conference hall
Adding vitality and colour to a dull setting.
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