ARCHEOLOGY OF DESIRE

Barrier Gate

[26] Barrier Gate for K.L. I’m glad you’re still alive Hiking boots coated in the mud Of someplace far off and cold Where women sell tangerines in piles, Eels swim in tanks On the fishmarket floor, Artificial plastic trees Bloom for blocks in the underground arcade Among blue silk flowers and real red roses. You do not throw the I Ching Or learn the national language You do not visit temples But cook your own noodles Pack and unpack the single room. We always wanted to see a corpse Tried to get into the dissecting room But were refused, weren’t medical students Missed the cadaver The corpse we saw together Was my husband in a box too big for UPS You pointed to the smoke rising Over the parking lot, and said Take a good look Take a really good look You might want, someday To write this down. What is it Wang Wei said: I stand at the barrier gate Now you are moving into the past. I cried at those words [27] Moving west on the silk route— The time you were sick The Chinese doctor took your pulse, A woman traveling alone, Said: poor thing, she has no friend. The doctor was wrong. You braid your hair into an ideogram Your hair speaks a second language Your ten toes are spaced out neatly Ready to keep walking. ...