How public –
those concrete paths –
punctuated with rows of metal
doors – potted plants –
pink trousers and under
garments – Don’t tell!
drying in shifting shards –
of sunlight.
I was Nobody! Invisible
as an aroma unnamed –
Fish sauce? A steaming
pot of rice? A plump duck
sizzling in hot oil?
Somebody! Anybody!
to the thundering typhoon –
of Mandarin around me –
I roared. ‘Twould have been wiser –
to wander that dreary grid –
the livelong June – as a pair –
than one hour –
alone as a Frog.
Still Life with Tortillas 
Nice combination — Dickinson and Taipei! Never would have thought of this. Great job!
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Thanks, you two! Sometimes I think my muse must be on crack, but then she delivers, so I love her. Happy trails!
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I fell in love with ED when I read and then memorized this poem when I was in high school 🙂 I enjoyed what you did with it
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ED is easy to love, WG, and also to imagine her getting lost in the swirling city of Taipei. It’s very cool that you memorized this signature poem…for me it was WS’s Sonnet 18. It’s engraved on my heart. Thanks for stopping by these woods.
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So fun! When I taught 8th grade, this was a favorite poem for imitating. Great photos.
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Thanks, Lisa. I don’t always follow the NaPoWriMo prompts, but my muse giggled at this one and screamed, “Do it!”
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Smart writing—love the pieces of it–how they got revealed to me through repeated readings, helped along i was by the wondrous image—stirred the pot of perceptions–the human stew–at home and abroad. Tantalizing language as always–the playful voice juxtaposed with the maestra’s classic verse a cosmic thread you’ve seamlessly layered in.
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Ah, then, perhaps you’re a poet, sir? Xiexie.
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urban mysticism–shifting voices–and the movable feast of witnesses—precise language concocting a perception of this alley-narrow slice so veritably delicious. A tip of the fedora to you.
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A dance of dashes in an Asian alley, jd. Like the way you picked up on it in your comment. Thank you!
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You are the master. I bow to you, Susan. Wow.
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Not sure of what, Pam, but I bow back. Thank you.
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