I went to See the Pandas
I went to see the pandas
I wanted to give them each a hug
I went to see a Buddha five stories high
carved into the stone of a red river cliff
I wanted to sit in the coil of his ear and listen for the ocean or the
primordial secrets of the universe
I walked up a mountainside
to view the calcified pools
yawning over the slope
catching volumes of liquid sapphire
giant under-bite jawbones
collecting saliva
with nothing to say
I wanted to jump in wearing all of my clothes and float around their circumference, buoyed by the air caught in my shirt
I went to the temple to offer my prayers but the incense smelled of burnt food
and the prayer wheel was stuck
I went for a walk at dusk in Songpan
down the hill and up to the gate covered in stars and cursive
I met with Uighars under the corrugated tin roof of their roadside stand
and practiced prayers in Arabic with the man in the white embroidered skull cap.
The children lined up and counted to ten in English and I gave them five.
My heart was full of God
“Allahu Akbar" we called together
and hugged goodbye.
©2008 Hillary Swanson. All rights reserved.