Based on an 11th Century Landscape by Guo Xi
NaPoWriMo 2021 Preview Prompt: Ekphrasis
Friend, I’ll meet you on the bridge
In the mist shall we walk together?
Last year we were young when we said goodbye
Now our hands resemble twisting branches
You stoop where once you stood tall, jacket threads trailing
My hair, long gone, lines an empty nest
Just over there, where the great trees bow
Brothering roots, they touch, they twine
Hold fast the ground
Stern against oncoming winds
I see a face in the gnarling wood
Peaceful, it reminds me of you
The birds have flown with parts of us woven
in bright wings, that bank and fade along steep valley walls
Friend, let’s pause to linger in passage
Our affinity now for what draws us to dirt
The pavilion is not far, let us make our way.
One day you’ll wave from the balcony
I’ll wave from the air.
Early Morning Poems 