In the
Mountains Where The Wild Pheasants Roost
After the yellow dust blows
by June he comes with his tools
dusts out the coffee shop, readies scuba gear
fires up the power boat, tests the jet skis
paints the goose-looking paddle boats
for he knows the families always come
like the summer rain to rice fields
the fall leaves float from chestnut trees.
The mounds of their ancestors rise from hillsides
where thirty-thousand Mongols rode on horseback
their flags flying with thunder over these hills
and the farmers’ daughters hid for safety.
Now the rice-planter skids four rows at a time
and the trumpets sound like a thousand car horns
finely tuned like the archer’s arrow
flies
fast over forty kings’ graves
and old footpaths criss-cross the hills
where the Mongols slept
their fire lights in the night
as the
cuckoos sing
trumpets
cry out
to the
sky
bring blue
Yellow dust (also called Asian dust, yellow sand, yellow wind, or China dust storms) is a seasonal meteorological phenomenon which affects much of East Asia in the spring. It originates in the deserts of Mongolia, northern China, and Kazakhstan, where high-speed surface winds and intense dust storms kick up dense clouds of fine, dry soil particles. Prevailing winds fhen carry it over Korea and elsewhere, even all the way across the Pacific to North America. It has become a serious problem due to the increase of industrial pollutants it contains, and intensified desertification in China is causing longer and more frequent occurrences.
ReplyDeleteInteresting write, I enjoyed it....
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