Paul Hoover
Written In Yunnan
1.
no thatched cottage
but a beach house on the hill
the rain is heavy
mist all over the roads
cars driving slowly
and in the right direction
no footsteps on the landing
none in the house
dust against the light
these words, our mouths
2.
a show place for the sun
everywhere it goes
hot on the water
caught among the rocks
shining up the stairs
the wrong way now
no gods on the ground
changed by their desire
reason being perfect
not in this world
3.
sounds like something
real but
no one spends attention
we’re overloaded now
every surface known
indecently as well
a culture numbed
and stung
by the image
it’s become
4.
a kinder role
was given
the monks who
failed as king
praying at three pagodas
serving spirit now
our dynasty’s
in the making
ordinary men
have it as they will
everything’s forever
no changes in the sun
what feels old
is triumph
our soldiers
dead running
gone before
they fall
5.
silence begs
a hearing
something like
a pause
every note is yes
there’s no
such thing
as none
until you
add it up
6.
last chance
for the soul
in body and
the world
where it can pass
for mind
time’s up but
keeps on raving
this essay on
soul-making
was written
by the sun
objects in
the mirror
are just as
they appear
7.
dead lecturer
has been speaking
of something
terribly slow
the language
is Chinese
but something
bruises through
they drag him
from the stage
gently enough
it seems
8.
the doors are wide open
all is context now
let me say the song
that will sing it well
hare in the moon
man on the ground
hold me in your hearts
fold me on your tongues
fire song, tree’s gone
now the lights are on
syllables are able
it’s a tribal day
9.
sleeping with a gun
dreaming of extinction
everyone sleeps alone
on the ice of his choosing
the trees are too dark
at the center of the forest
all dreamed things are open
wary of the closed
10.
here we are
the world
what is and
what has been
how much dark
is needed
before we know
it well
let me keep
this keeping
mu is wood
quang enclosed
enclose them
with a bell
soften it
with snow