Adagio

POETRY Contemporary Taiwanese Poetry 1 Adagio by ChenLi Grandma sittingby the window (she was seventeen then,she says) waiting forthedistant clouds to move slowly to the mountaintop and become her hair in the mirror A catwalks across the lawn (so can a pig but not now) knocks over the rattanchair she often sitson in the middle of the lawn She turnson the radio to listen to reportsof snowfall but thegrass is so green Suddenly she craves vanilla ice cream The bread treestands at theend of the lawn, the whole afternoon notmoving one bit The Oriental sesame flowerstands at theother end of the lawn chit-chatting with her sisters Grandma thinks toherself the silent tree ispoetry so is the talking flower She raises her head and seesme with a backpack ofbooks cross the lawn, set the rattanchair on itsfeet open thedoor, enter thehouse, and see Grandma sittingby the window (she was seventeen then,she says) waiting forthedistant clouds to move slowly to the mountaintop and become her hair in the mirror A catwalks across the lawn (so can a pig but not now) knocks over the rattanchair she often sitson in the middle of the lawn She turnson the radio to listen to reportsof snowfall but thegrass is so green Suddenly she craves vanilla ice cream The bread treestands at theend of the lawn, the whole afternoon notmoving one bit The Oriental sesame flower stands at theother end of the lawn chit-chatting with her sisters Grandma thinks toherself thesilent tree ispoetry so is the talking flower She raises her head and seesme with a backpack ofbooks cross the lawn, set the rattanchair on itsfeet open thedoor, enter thehouse, and see 2006

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