You'd think artists of China came
from some alien planet,
where women and dragons
are delicate monsters,
mountains like stalagmites,
waterfalls curly as wigs,
and flowers formal
beyond recognition.
But read their poets, and you see
they're people like us,
speaking of love,
and loss, and longing,
of taking wine or tea with friends,
or being sent to some far country
sick for home.
© The Estate of Dorothy Cowlin 2002–2021. All rights reserved.