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Classic and Contemporary Poetry
CHINA 1937, by LAURA FRANCES ALEXANDER
First Line: Now is old cathay a broken bowl
Last Line: To the gods of time and war.
Alternate Author Name(s): Alexander, Frances
Subject(s): China
First Line: Now is old cathay a broken bowl
Last Line: To the gods of time and war.
Alternate Author Name(s): Alexander, Frances
Subject(s): China
Now is old Cathay a broken bowl;
Its curves of riven porcelain
Are curling like loose petals
Of a shattered lotus bloom;
Its patterns are destroyed;
The five-toed dragon,
Sundered vertebrae and claw,
Lies scattered in the broken glaze;
The five glad bats are routed
And all the studied beauty
Is a useless offering
To the gods of time and war.
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