Li Po
1
Li Po knew
the fecund trees
full of blossoms,
the tea bushes
flush with leaves,
sweet scent rising
from snow-petaled earth,
spears rolled–or broken–
between fingers and thumb
2
Every morning
I am Li Po,
if only I hear
the expectant cup
3
And if the porcelain overturns,
what then?
4
the snow-petaled earth
the snow-petaled earth
—L.L. Barkat, from How to Read a Poem: Based on the Billy Collins Poem “Introduction to Poetry”
