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Kisiabaton

Kisiabaton


Beat-up datsun idling in the road
 shreds of fog
 almost-vertical hillsides drop away
 huge stumps fading into mist
 soft warm rain

Snaggy, forked and spreading tops, a temperate cloud-forest tree 


Chamaecyparis formosiana--
 Taiwan hinoki,
hung-kuai     red cypress

That the tribal people call kisiabaton 


this rare old tree
 is what we came to see. 






Book: Radiant Verses: A Journey Through Inspiring Poetry