So long River Han
You don’t change but everything around you can
The bridges that bind you serve their purpose
But don’t do you a smidgen of good
Egrets from high rises swoop lower to find you
What thirteenth floor elevator passengers only pan
They won’t give themselves reality checks
Or sojourn to their dreams
Those concrete minds behind venetian blinds
Cannot join your stream so
So long River Han
Butterflies in pairs don’t cry as if they understand
The fish don’t wish to be moved or admired
Sugarcane that wracked my brain
Potato fields forever!
Have all been changed into something strange
That spirits cannot feel
They rearranged the dykes, so plain
To give them wonder wheels
To roll me down the road to Tiger Tail
From roaring heads of steel
So cheerio Han River
Some stretch of you remains
In a fine mind when it’s time
To tolerate the pain
Other rivers, washes and gullies
Smaller yet but bigger glory
To this writer’s pen, lovely stories
In love begotten
On fine Formosa’s fragrant byways
Round rice paddies, taro patches
Finding Taiwan’s hidden snatches
Winding roads through weirs and valleys
Over mountains youthful fountains
There I’ll see you in my dreams
Wetter than primeval streams
From whence originated your crystal seams
So long Han
February 19, 2021
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