In the rust drain,
She sweeps memories,
Revolting white froth,
Effervescent with fast time
and alkaline bruises
too slow to catch up.
On rustic terracotta,
She walks with pricked feet,
That foam, it recurs in tides
and spreads all over
like spilt milk on spoilt food.
And she shoves her bruises,
The nostalgic nightmares
through the drain,
She’ll cleanse her rustic terracotta
But she doesn’t know,
The foam will come again.
Relaxing
brown tiles
beautiful
The Terracotta Army is the most amazing discovery ever
Carved in 210 BC, consisting of 8000 warriors, a creation so clever
What is so totally amazing
An accomplishment so spirit raising
How it was achieved is a mystery, an amazing endeavour
Orangey,
burnt almond hues
color
the horizon;
as Sol's chariot
like a spent
ember,
glows amber;
inking
infinite
ice crystals
with a coppery
terracotta ocher;
as
it arches and sets.
We drove all day on dusty roads to Xian
in the Shaanxi province
to see the clay men.
The army is deployed in large archaeological pits.
Our guide, a Chinese beauty, marshals us from the front
like any good general.
Her voice is a dulcet lagoon
in this desiccated place.
We all notice that her silk cheongsam
clings to her embroidered,
peach of a bottom.
The arsenic-poisoned emperor died as mad as a hatter,
believing a metalloid would grant him endless life.
It`s difficult to tell if his megalomania arrived
before his craziness, or after
but they buried him deep where insanity is timeless.
As we file out, I look back.
The clay spear carriers
the foot soldiers, the dusty officers
even the horses,
all of them seem to be stifling smirks -
their eyes latched upon
a heavenly peach, no doubt.
Persona non Grata That Is Terracotta
Seems to be persona non grata,
Having a head that is terracotta;
Lump of lard,
And head hard;
Likes sandwich cheese with tomato.
Jim Horn
The Terracotta Army is the most amazing discovery ever
Carved in 210 BC, consisting of 8000 warriors, a creation so clever
What is so totally amazing
An accomplishment so spirit raising
How it was achieved is a mystery, a totally amazing endeavour
Alabaster pillars
reach to heights I’ve never known
Marble indentations
feed the facets which have grown
Carved before the spectacle
that time forgot to keep
Oh these ancient sites I find
my mind decides to reap
Sculpted statues stand there
looking down with faces stern
Painted garments scaled off
overgrown by grass and fern
Dwarved I dwell among the mute
no figments of my mind
Looking at me with those eyes
austere and far from blind
Goblets made of copper
shimmer bright the vintage vine
Amethyst and ruby
circle close atop the wine
Tables set for many
with a feast for all to share
Here before my hungry eyes
which now can only stare
Mossy marble benches
are my bed now for the night
Hungry I go sleeping
in the slowly fading light
Shuffling through the darkness
ghostly visions of the past
visitors from ancient times
But sleep now comes at last
***
June 16, 2017
Copyright © Chris Green and Darren White
Bits of our hearts~
Given with ease~
The terracotta~
Crumbling and unwanted~
Chained gates~
No fashioned keys~
©2016_ Andrea Travis
Terracotta oil lamp, nearly two millennia balanced in the palm of my hand
An archaic flashlight for some Mesopotamian householder
Hands over centuries transferring it from one owner to the next
And to think that in its newest state, a sleepy flame from its spout
Cast a glow upon a bed, a table, a wife’s face, a scroll or a book
Illuminating the momentary life that burns faster than oil.
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