The River, the Boat ---- poem by Koon Woon published in The Big Window Review
The River, the Boat
When facing the
sun's progress, my heart is
churned by its
rays, as the Yellow River's waters are
churning ten
fathoms deep,
and when I compose
my life by music of moonlight,
I cannot help but
think of other great rivers of the world,
and their
transporting immense mountains to sea.
And when I see my
face and yours in the same mirror,
I learn the blend
of Arabic and South American coffees that slowly
roast our hearts
with the first cup, waking us to a slight
bitterness, but
coffee is coffee, black is black, pain is pain, and life is life.
So, I know the
gift of your heart is long in the preparing
and my acceptance
is quick in the receiving,
And so as you
shower me with this great gift of monsoon rain,
my heart softens
as the rice paddies are ready for planting, and
though there are
leeches in the water that will steal our blood,
our crop will
invariably bring us great abundance because of your light
and the power of
the sun.
That the moon
still can cast a cold glimmer but she alone
shivers naked in
the sky and still the oceans will not freeze
and we will be
seventy-seven one day, like so many lit candles in the wind,
when morning is no
guarantee for the evening,
and we both know
that more rains will come,
but we are also
certain that as the river rises, so does our boat.
Koon Woon
August 3, 2017
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