As writers we attempt to use words to capture or evoke feelings. Poets are masters of this skill, distilling complex concepts into a few words. Good poetry is almost like magic, and, in my opinion, is the essence of word-crafting. Few of us wouldn’t benefit from studying it.
Jane Zenger, educator and poet, sends this poem from China, where she traveled from South Carolina to teach English to adolescent and young adults for a year. This poem was written in her first few months in China, and reflects both the cultural divide she experienced, and the hands reaching out to bridge that gap. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
The Women of Shanxi
I heard the airplanes circling,
seeding the stunted clouds.
Nothing can be left to chance
with a billion people to feed.
By morning it was here but
the snow that fell was not real.
It was manufactured like the news.
The faces, they are real,
the laughter, that is real.
I compare my lifetime
with the lives of the women of Shanxi.
The three who have taken me on and in;
we are all the same.
Pain, shame, pride, siblings, sacrifice, sudden death，
our mothers and fathers growing feeble and fragile
and with all our capabilities we struggle still
knowing nothing can be done either here or in the hereafter.
Some consolation, the chemical snow
covers the dark coal dust
and ice cracks rhythmically
under out feet as we walk arm in arm.
I fell yesterday without them, so clumsy.
But I did not say a word.
They would have checked me head to toe
and carried me for a week to make sure
nothing else happens.
I am rare here but everywhere else
no gem to anyone, unpolished and plain.
I thought that nothing more could happen
but everything is happening.
I am reminded of the time it takes
to learn or unlearn anything.
I must be a lotus that blooms
not an onion that is peeled.
Today my lovely Chinese friend, waved her chopsticks
like she was clearing the air and
out of the blue reminded me of what I do not know.
It is not a good plan that can not be changed。
You can go alone now- to the islands off Sanya.
Thaw in the South China Sea
and when you return,
we will still be here
to watch your every step.
How could she possibly know?
JFZ
