Granite, By Russell Leong

India. Africa. Italy.

Raw granite fills the ship.

Nagoya dock. Steel crane

Bears down the weight.

Black. Gray. White.

Prepare the mind.

Crystallize thought.

River clears my flesh.

Mountain cleans my bones.

Granite has four seasons.

This stone is winter.

Within the rock I carve

The helmets of two soldiers--

Breath and oath solidified.

Snow falls

At its own pace, configuring

Stone and space.

I chisel your narrow eyes.

Pick your teeth of ice.

Polish your flecked tongue.

From “The Country of Dreams and Dust” by Russell Leong. (West End Press: $14.95). 1993 Reprinted by permission.