Chinese Remedies

Early morning
in Shanhaiguan,
the sun rising
from Bohai Bay.

Already
Barefoot Doctor
is out and about,
not walking

but riding...
a new bicycle.
Flying Pigeon,
color gray.

Business
must be good.
His saddle-bags
with red crosses,

strapped on
back, contain
everything--
from tiger bone

and rhino horn
to ginseng root
and bee pollen,
snake wine--

Village needs.
His patients
believe in him,
are feeling

better.
I find myself
believing too,
as I watch him

pedal to work,
make house-calls.
The heaviness
of night

falling away.
A new day,
like no other,
stretching us all.

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Table of Contents | The Politics of My Heart