28

Gracious Networks
(after Li Ho)

seated on the terrace
as the stars plummet
into the darkening pool

an unidentified figure
sips from a glass
mid-life slips away

migrant birds proclaim
change hibiscus blossoms
bleed into the soil

long neglect lies ahead
but certain words
never quite forgotten

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38

Never quite forgotten
       Certain words
              Are nevertheless neglected

The blooms of hibiscus
       Wither in a day
              Birds gasp in the heat

Remembered at dusk
       A line of ibis
              Inscribes the page