Bloggence, Cunning, Exile

Snyder on Taiwan's cypress

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.

--Gary Snyder IX90, Ali-shan, Taiwan

posted by E. Heroux @ 4:44 PM