On Luoyang’s outskirts, outside the tomb of Bai, I can’t help but wonder how he ever wrote a word here, much less enough poetry to fill the walls of a winding corridor. Structures from his time and long before stand still, solid, as we cover them like ants crawling out from the earth, filling them with calls like Jiangnan’s cranes.
by the bank
rollicking in the river’s flow
an abandoned verse
Shelly Bryant splits her time between Singapore and Shanghai, working as a teacher, freelance writer, researcher, and student of Chinese language and culture. She is the author of two volumes of poetry, Cyborg Chimera and Under the Ash, and a travel guide to the city of Suzhou entitled Suzhou Basics. She loves to read, write, cycle, and travel, and enjoys the opportunities for all of these that her present migratory lifestyle affords. You can visit her website at http://web.me.com/shellybryant.
