Ruth Padel,

[Ruth Padel]

Tiger drinking at forest pool

Water, moonlight, danger, dream.
Bronze urn, angled on a tree-root: one slash of light, then gone. A red moon Seen through clouds, or almost seen.
Treasure found but lost, flirting between
The worlds of lost and found. An unjust law
Repealed, a wish come true, a lifelong
Sadness healed. Haven, in the mind,
To anyone hurt by littleness. A prayer,
For the moment, saved; treachery forgiven.
Flame of the crackle-glaze tangle, amber
Reflected in grey milk-jade. An old song
Remembered, long debt paid.
A painting on silk, which may fade.

[The Soho Leopard, Chatto & Windus, 2004]

The Forest, the Corrupt Official and a Bowl of Penis Soup

Black tree stumps cool on the mountain,

sawmills slide out planks a hundred an hour

and white ash blooms over the river

while the courtier treats the General

to tiger penis soup, five hundred linu a bowl.