In the top right-hand corner, descending
Cross-slashes and canted squiggles announce
A different meaning, one that the uncomprehending
Westerner might view askance, denounce
As quaint chinoiserie, but which, of course,
In the light of cultural relativism, must
Be accepted as equally valid. And so, perforce,
The jaded occidental mind, distrust
Put aside for now, juggles with a new
Perspective. Craggy rocks high in mist,
The long dark triangles of the bamboo plant
Scattering clouds of diagonals, meandered through
By the dusty path’s slow zig-zag. Enlist
The mandarin’s eye: give beauty another slant.
Cross-slashes and canted squiggles announce
A different meaning, one that the uncomprehending
Westerner might view askance, denounce
As quaint chinoiserie, but which, of course,
In the light of cultural relativism, must
Be accepted as equally valid. And so, perforce,
The jaded occidental mind, distrust
Put aside for now, juggles with a new
Perspective. Craggy rocks high in mist,
The long dark triangles of the bamboo plant
Scattering clouds of diagonals, meandered through
By the dusty path’s slow zig-zag. Enlist
The mandarin’s eye: give beauty another slant.
(9.10.1996)
