Palinode XIII

Palinode XIII


At the cinema
you were

excited by the bare-bodied
students

of kungfu
lifting water buckets

on their broad
shoulders,

the Hollywood
car chase

led by an amnesiac
Marine captain

at the flashing wheel,
and so was I,

looking for a shot
of testosterone

in
my disabled life,

until the picture
of you

taken from behind
came unbidden

on the screen,
and I

had to close my eyes
against

the fire engulfing
the overturned

 car, the water buckets
clattering

down
the temple steps.


 Image credit: https://www.shifuyanlei.co.uk/blogs/news/127207491-3-ways-to-train-like-a-shaolin-monk

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