William Marr Poetry

An After Dinner Immortal

“one cigarette after dinner, happy as an immortal”
— a Chinese saying

sucking in, blowing out
sucking in, blowing out
comfortably reclining on the couch
with eyes half closed
the immortal was listening to his young son
reciting under the dim light
the history of the Opium War

in the thick of the swirling smoke
a section of ash that had been cultivated to attain divinity
was shaken abruptly by the burning words
“to cede lungs and pay indemnity with intestines”
and fell to the ground

Thinking of You on the Train

the more I wipe
the more it becomes blurry
the foggy skies
the foggy fields
the foggy windows

yet you
are looking at me
with such clear eyes
from another scenery
from another world

Snowfight

along with a cry of joy
a snowball
whizzes toward you

it lands right on the bud
waiting to bloom
on your beaming cheek

The Little Bird

Having a cold
fighting with the wife
blinded by the sun
excuses are abundant

Yet this little bird
sings the morning
into gold

City Windows

the higher the window
the smaller
and paler
the face

every time I pass underneath
I always have a funny feeling
something is going to land on my head
a spit
a cigarette butt
a flower pot
or a man
spreading his arms
learning to fly
like a bird

Editor’s Note on William Marr Poetry:

William Marr Poetry is not the first set that Eastlit have published by him.

• Five Poems by William Marr were published in the August 2013 issue of Eastlit. The poems were: Homecoming, At Lo Wu Stn, Bian Zhong, On the Towpath, The Great Wall.