Page 26 - Contrast1962v6n1

This selection received first prize in the poetry
division of CONTRAST'S writing contest.

the river of two sorrows

mary harbin

You came from the silent village of Chang-yo-sen)
and you spoke not;

but your eyes shone with the wisdom of kings)
and your hands filled my arms with blue plums.

I approached my own father)
bowing deeply and loui;

and I told him I must go to your land.
My father wept but said) "Go in peace/'
and he bowed in return to me.

So I followed you across purple mountains
until we came to a place by the sea
where a river was formed in the sand.
Then I) shy bride of a king)

still holding blue plums in my arms)
bowed to you and asked you the name
of this river at the doorway to the sea.
You answered with silent words)

for you spoke not even then)
that this was the Rive?· Of Two Sorrows
which flowed westward to the valley of Tse-ling.

We made our home there at the place

where the River of Two Sorrows flowed into the sea.
The ocean whispered to fleeting days

until the monotone of ebbing) flowing tides
made time itself disappear;
and the color of my world was gold.

But then one day I saw you standing and gazing out at the river;
and I saw that its sorrows had invited your eyes

and covered them over with white mists.
I stood beside you and asked you to tell me
why this river had such a strange name.

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