Earnest cliche

I have let them go, friends once and no longer,
And our camaraderie has, as they say, sailed,
(Missing journey implied) --
But sometimes the what if of us blows back into port,
And then I see, once more, the ship pass by,
There it is - and there it goes.
Was it wrong to haul anchor so?
Nautical metaphors may work well in the sinking,
Eventually, of all remnants of that worn-down boat,
That skiff, that raft --
Until it is nothing but driftwood floating
forlornly, its doom not far --
But in this cliche, all I want to say is
our ties were cut justly
and even as I rig the display - the model -
that ship in a bottle - as a fond reminder -
I know I will cork it tight
And, metaphors be damned, be glad
that it is over, and for good.

Gao tie: Shanghai to Tai'an 2015

Cobwebbed skies
Sunless daylight
A cold brightness, chilling hearts
Across expanses of frayed toothpicks
Muddy prints filled with stillness
Blocks of residence
Human residue for miles, as deep as sight stretches
And as long as lives;
Ones that have never known, someday,
Anything before the milky cataracts
Of smog blanketing China's ancient eyes.

Tai'an 2016

This chatter in China, whole vowels
Toned tautly, characters clipping
Through air dense as cotton
And I, lao wai, walk, head bowed,
Parsing the threads of unknown
Tongues and climates, picking up
Rinds of meaning, their zest obvious,
Their seeds a mystery.
Here, they stare as hawks at prey,
But I've stopped expecting differently,
Delighting instead in the widened eyes,
Slightly parted lips of wonder.