After Hanging scroll painting, ink on silk, by Xu Jing, (dated 1441), Metropolitan Museum of Art
The pure whiteness of winter
blankets plum blossoms
as they seek Spring.
They dance under snowy boughs
and lap the melting drops
as the icy trunk hides
from the birthing branches
in disbelief.
Grief from the many deaths
swirls in the wind
and tries to staunch these buds.
Their fragrance unfurls,
penetrates the shroud.
The Pure whiteness of Winter is reprinted with the permission of the publisher.
