We ride away from each other, waving our hands,
While our horses neigh softly, softly . . .
Li Po (“Taking Leave of a Friend”)
No Luddite sure, yet technology’s unwanted intrusion
reminds of the woodpecker’s rapid-fire assault
on the eave, on the metal roof, on the smudge pot lids
closed cold in the orchard when I was a boy. I wonder
about their rattled minds, what natural shock absorbers
slide like hydraulic cylinders between bill and brain
to cushion their rat-tat-tat attacks on the world.
Our push button culture saves jillions of steps
that leave invisible trails nonetheless, for invaders
we don’t want to see, don’t care about— yet
tech has allowed me to know you and Chinese poetry
from half-way ‘round this distressed planet.
drycrikjournal 