#reid mitchell

[eunoiareview]

For Red Pine

A village elder pointed to a cornfield ripe corn covering Meng Chiao’s grave

Meng Chiao’s house lost its door but his poems broke new ice

Meng Chiao’s coat sported holes but his poems wear brocade

What is success, what is sorrow? I hope some old man remembers me

Reid Mitchellis a New Orleanian teaching in China. More specifically, he is a Scholar in Jiangsu Province’s 100 Foreign Talents Program,…

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[naranzarian]

I Planted a Banana Tree Outside Our Window

Li Qingzhao speaks to her husband who is long absent

Banana tree in frozen rain: nothing looks more dead, nothing harder to kill. An axe can’t chop through. My garden saw makes it bleed milk. The trunk won’t rot, can’t burn, but a field mouse leaves his footprint. We planted the tree under our window. Even cut to the ground, roots and stump, its heart reaches up to pierce the gray sky, and flower in the sun. Too tired to dry my sandalwood hair. Today I hack it short with a paring knife. Black and crystal against the cinnamon tiles. If you ever rap on the window, remember I’ve grown too old to blush. The nape of my neck needs your breath to warm it.

— Reid Mitchell

[splitminded]

Reid Mitchell