East of the mountains,
a family on a farm prays
next one is a boy.
Coast guard officer
leaves his pregnant spouse on port
just above the sea.
“Learn from Lei Feng” sung
at Tiananmen Square reaches
Feng’s mother at home.
Qingming festival,
tomb-sweeping and light dusting
on ancestral land.
Water Rabbit year
has been difficult on sows
and their litter yields.
They raced dragon boats
to save the poet’s body
from becoming fish.
Officer takes leave
to see his baby daughter
born behind closed doors.
A flock of magpies
form a bridge to reunite
lovers for one day.
Prep for Mid-Autumn
is pig slaughter for their fat
rendered into lard.
In times of famine
they find the best bark to eat
and coal if bare trees.
Officer orders
house servants for cook and clean
and wet nurse to feed.
Sisters fan the fire
under their baby brother
to keep his butt warm.