foreigner
i saw a
body floating
in the Yangtze
it was bloated
and hollow and
just human
enough that
i couldn’t
escape it.
a local
beside me
explained in
broken english
that i shouldn’t
worry, it was
suicide and
in studying
his twisted
tormented body
i wished i
could speak
his language
so that the
next time
a body
floated by
he wouldn’t
have to say
anything.
First published in High Altitude Poetry.