POEM: "To Be A Wolf"

To Be A Wolf

                                for Zheng Xiaoqiong

He runs barefoot, the snow and ice

Heaven and earth, mother between
The boy falls asleep.
His father is missing for 3 days
Searching in the hills and meadows
His mother carries the babies
Heavy rain. 8 years old.
His father's body.
What you learn from that
To be a wolf. Think like a wolf
The mountains are small.
A mother's kiss.

He is 10. Already
He takes care of those who love him.
He learns to sing the mountains
Where his father died
One thousand years of tears and stars
He sings that.
Many years later he sings that.
I am a bucket.
My water is in the bucket.
The bucket is you.
Carry the sorrow and joy together.
Make me a good life.

A good night that brings the next day.
A good day that lets us sleep in peace.
We come from the mountains
And we walk the streets like the mountain paths
Our jobs are canyons
Our boss is a ridge
And the salary is just a river to cross.
I walk everywhere like a stranger.
I pick my steps carefully
Perfect flowers I sometimes see in boxes.
Her kiss tasted like wild honey.
I am alone. I sing.

© 2016 Rob Schackne