Wednesday, May 28, 2014

165. Smokey Beijing

grey in the morning
smog,
streets awaking
bicycles;
cars thread through:
awake,
smoky Beijing!

misty in the veils of
time,
museums stand,
tall and Junoesque;
antiques are real when
awoken,
smokey Beijing;

earthy, cigarettes mutely
fume,
lazy streams glistening ‘twixt
Mandarin;
words entwining,
awakening,
smoky Beijing:

humming, miles away the
tourists,
globe’s collection in bright sun
visors,
parasols out and wide
awake,
smokey Beijing –

from the stolen sands of
time,
progress lays its youthful
tracks,
resting lay the timeless Dragon,
in depths and
at the core,
smokey Beijing.

2 comments:

  1. While I read through the lines I found myself walking down a lane, seeing all that you wrote, breathing the air of the smokey Beijing.

    Beijing is a fascinating city as I perceive through the tales that I read.

    The words flew so naturally that I went from one to another without shifting my eyes.

    It was a great read! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Sui Generis,
      Thanks so much for the lovely comment. :) I've been to Beijing twice before. This poem (and a couple more I will be writing) are based on sights and images I gathered on a family trip to China in the summer of 2013. It's a very fascinating city; there's so much to explore that it is almost a country itself.

      Delete

One Art, to recognize, must be,
Another Art to Praise.

- Emily Dickinson