Reanimated Lavender Granola Switchblade Nun rides again.

Friday, July 3, 2015

Panda

China is so big, such a giant on the map and in physical space,
that a person might fall in love with someone,
go all stupid over someone,
and never see them again, disappearing into the crowd
in a port city
on a bicycle,
ringing the little bell and vanishing.

Pandas eat bamboo shoots, 
so poor in nutrition that they must consume mightily to survive.
They don't know how remarkable they are, they never see a mirror;
they just eat and crap and sleep and have no idea how loved they are
all over the world.

You are twenty miles down the road, 
but I am feeling equators and great walls.
Come back, I'll boil you all the rice you want,
and when I speak it can be in those little characters.

I have a shovel,
and I am digging digging digging.
I am hoping to hit bicycle tire.
I am hoping a big black paw will reach up for me, and pull me through,
or that I'll hear your truck,
the door, your bag hitting the entryway tile.

Opium's for suckers, your face is the only high I need,
so catch the first thing smoking and I will
cancel my expedition, put the kibosh on the dig.
I love you. Don't you know?
Or are you a panda, adorable and clueless,
wandering the bamboo forest 
when I've got something better in mind?
_______

for Hannah's prompt at Real Toads.



14 comments:

  1. These sections gave me chills:

    "They don't know how remarkable they are, they never see a mirror;
    they just eat and crap and sleep and have no idea how loved they are"

    "You are twenty miles down the road,
    but I am feeling equators and great walls."

    "Come back, I'll boil you all the rice you want,
    and when I speak it can be in those little characters."

    "Opium's for suckers"

    "I love you. Don't you know?
    Or are you a panda, adorable and clueless,
    wandering the bamboo forest
    when I've got something better in mind?"

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  2. The whimsy here fights with something a bit more serious, a remoteness that can't, seemingly, ever be reached, no matter how deep or sweaty the digging, like the obliviousness of the panda to his effect on a world he cannot conceive, let alone acknowledge or respond to. Really, the sweetness is as great for the subtle as the obvious here--a tricksy love poem, but then, so love always is. As always, Shay, you find a fresh way to look at everything enduring in our hearts.

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  3. Shay--

    I worship at the altar of Shay.

    JFC!

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  4. I love that the panda in the picture is sitting in a "Y."

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  5. This is such a beautiful piece :D
    Well penned!

    Lots of love,
    Sanaa

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  6. Shay...this is so full of desire and beauty...thank you for adding your link to the challenge. :)

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  7. Desire is the fuel of this piece...romantic, moving, sensual...love it.

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  8. How you got here from that picture I would give an organ to know!

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  9. I thought that was quite wonderful, really enjoyed reading that delightful piece.

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  10. That's passionate! And I agree with Mama Zen. Though not with the organ part :)

    Leo @ I Rhyme Without Reason

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  11. The Panda who doesn't know how loved he is.. Maybe part of it is that it's so clueless.. I also love how weaved it with waste ness of China.

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  12. So charming. I especially loved the wonderful surprises of your dig--the bicycle tire--really terrific and sweet. Thanks. k.

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