BLACKOUT

A sudden blackout convinces me

this is a developing country

where people read by moonlight,

where the imperial examinations have been abolished.

A sudden blackout brings me

from somewhere overhead

the tinkle of windchimes,

the footfalls of a cat.

In the distance,

a grumbling motor stumbles into silence,

at my side, the battery radio

sings on.

When the power’s off

time leaps backward—

small restaurants light their white candles.

The fat man gobbling crow

sees more and more crows

gather on the branches.

Such deep darkness,

the surge of the black sea’s womb.

A mother hangs from the rafter,

her own scent filling every room.

Blackout. I grope and find a slipper,

murmuring “Match! Don’t hide!”

In candlelight, I see my shadow

huge, speechless, cast upon the wall.