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Today at dVerse Poetics Pub, the lovely and talented Claudia Shoenfeld invites us to visit a city that is a part of our story or imagination and to try to create a poetic sense of that city’s atmosphere. I’ve traveled back a number of years to Xi’an, China, which I visited in 1998. The city is home of the renowned Terra Cotta Warriors rediscovered by a farmer in the 1970’s. Constructed to protect the tomb of a Chinese Emperor, the warriors are the site of an amazing archeological dig. The earth of Xi’an is red terra-cotta and its fine red dust coats the environment and everyone in it. Other key interests in Xi’an include a huge open air market where animals are slaughtered at the time of purchase and shops of artisans who work in jade.
Xi’an
when I return
to Xi’an
dusted in powder
the color of blood
red death
of warriors
with fine
bristled brush
will I remove
secrets hidden
for ages
protecting kings
in their mounded
repose
when I return
to Xi’an
with sharp-pointed
stylus will I etch
millennia of stories
in green jade
carving the
history of a nation
in bas-relief
roam
markets
flowing with
blood of
fowl, of human
sweat and tears,
taste scents
of ocean
fruit
lay down
upon the earth
to hear
the sigh of ages
cradle clay
within my
hands
create
beauty
Stop by the pub and enjoy a world tour presented for your enjoyment by an array of seasoned and up-coming poets: http://dversepoets.com
Victoria C. Slotto, Author 