by Reid Mitchell
High Water (For Qiu Jin)
Du Fu says the rains come
to encourage poetry
We write our best in the dark
Dark water rises to drive us
from our gardens and onto
the roofs of prisons
We float out frail poems
asking gods unknown
for rescue
Widening river
embraces
black clouds
In Hong Kong
The fisherman breaks the crab
to fry red in garlic and hot pepper
The crab’s claws wave fiercely
his shell rigid like rock
his tiny eyes black
his tiny mouth sideways biting
Yet the fisherman can break the crab
and fry it in red pepper and garlic
I Smell a Familiar Hurricane in Guang Zhou
These frogs sound as if they swam from home
Sure the Pacific would’ve drowned them
These green palms sway in this storm
Canton calls typhoon
Huang Zongxi warned his prince
“Make all coins bronze
“The rich man will be known by his hernia
People won’t carry the weight to leave home”
Editor’s Note on High Water & Other Poems
Apart from High Water & Other Poems, Reid Mitchell has had the following pieces published in Eastlit:
- Five Poems appeared in Eastlit March 2014.
