Poetry
Anything is a subject for a poem:
A catalog of boxing equipment, a collage of other poems,
Serpentine trail of incense, raised deer fur, old shoes pointed pigeon-toed,
Glass and steel cityscape, almond eyes of a saint, weeping of tiny flowers,
Sunlight on whitewashed walls, blue shadows of stooped women,
A sprung mousetrap, a trickle of blood in the gutter,
The homing swoop of a gull, chill whitecapped bay, scent of a eucalyptus,
Green lawn of broken blades, clods of fat earth,
Anything is subject for a poem.
Even in sleep, write a poem.
When waking, write a poem.
While loving, write a poem.
Even voting, write a poem.
When angry, write a poem.
While dreaming, write a poem.
Deng Ming-Dao
365 Tao, Day 216
©1992 Deng Ming-Dao, Harper San Francisco