At Bai Juyi’s Tomb
I followed the deer
to get here,
and left you some smokes.
Do they smoke in heaven
or use them as currency?
Downstream they say
the carp that can make the jump
become dragons.
Is it really that easy
or just a story for the tourists?
I’ve seen that single moon
and thought of your brothers.
Mine have all died, so it’s a solitary
loneliness now.
Author's note:
“At Bai Juyi’s Tomb” is an allusion to his (Bai Juyi's) poem, “To My Brothers And Sisters Adrift in Troubled Times This Poem of The Moon.”
David Harrison Horton is a Beijing-based writer, artist, editor and curator. He is author of Necessary (Downingfield Press, 2025) and Maze Poems (Arteidolia, 2022). His work has recently appeared in The Belfast Review, Roi Fainéant, Modern Literature and Yolk, among others. He edits the poetry zine SAGINAW. You can learn more about him here: davidharrisonhorton.com.
