thinking of cold mountain – a poem by Adream Marquis

thinking of cold mountain

han shan (a chinese hermit-poet)
took to the hills to lead a life
in the clouds — nothing to do
but dance to singing cicadas…

in some of the scribbles, he writes
of wife and son… in others, a brook —
laughing joy. laughing sorrow.
nothing steals his thunder!

that old ghost haunts poets
when it rains in small-town, anywhere:
was that you in the flash of the cardinal?
the empty trash bins that line the street?

in that lavender flower i don’t yet
know the name of? or just in the
verse… which helped ease me
through this evening’s worries?

Adream Marquis (he/they) is a poet working in the Affrilachian foothills of Muscogee and Cherokee North Georgia. Their transdisciplinary work is deeply rooted in the haunted naturalism of their environment, and they seek to sing its mysteries. Adream hopes to inspire in each an itch for that magic hiding in all of our unique ecologies.