Wednesday, July 10, 2019

DUY DOAN ~








Rickshaw Boy






The man I pulled tonight

carried a load of books.



When I felt him watching

me uphill, I grimaced.



He gave me lunar

cakes the size



of two camel humps.

When I answered him,



I smiled to his face.

He wore the moonlight



in his specs. Pant

seams clean as the embroidery



work of his book covers.

One cannot grow rich



without a bit of cleverness.

Should I have shown



him the secret of my deft

touch? The Circling Moon,



the Graceful Swan? How East

Wind beats West Wind



if other two winds say so?

Snow falls on cedars.






____________________


Duy Doan
We Play A Game
Yale, 2018