I Learn the Language of Stars
you sing from memory
whispering secrets to the thousand islands at my feet
and row to the shipwrecked shores of Ithaca
i hear rustling of dry wind
smell the damp sun-kissed cattails after last night's storm
and see the land my ancestors slaved over
barren and fruitless as my womb
i call to ghosts
where are you?
you claim to know winter
so you climb Mount Olympus in February and learn to hate frostbites
and when stars dance you sympathize their songs
but really now
what are they saying?
seasons change with the moon
and i slowly caress your silhouette with clumsy fingers
suckling the yellow from aging honeysuckles
i wash the nostalgic Aegean Sea
spilling blue over a drowning sunset and painting beautiful Asteria
with bold breathless hands anxious to touch
but the water is cold
and i shiver
stay a little longer
Copyright © Xin Liu | Year Posted 2010
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