Beneath the cool red cedars

Beneath the cool red cedars

Where the ferns and bamboo grow

I find a footpath

That winds around

Between all the concrete paths

And the cedars

Spread the filigree of their branches

Like so many umbrellas

Blocking the overhead sun

And there we find a spot

Where all the class can sit

And act the parts of our play

The Death of a Salesman

And the students have plenty of chances

To practice their English

With passion and loud diction

And there we all make our speeches

And laugh at one another's mistakes

Beneath the grove of red cedars

The cover the hillside

The ways of the larger world

Are temporarily forgot

And all things

In muted light and cool shadow

Seem less harsh

Our collective burdens

Less pressing

The Great Wall Revisited

Trails in the Snow

1991-1993