tea into china

I found a
weed
that had a
mirror in it
and that
mirror
looked in at
a mirror
in
me that
had a
weed in it
--Ammons


There is a tinkling of china
And tea into china;
There are introductions.
Then everyone
Crowds to the window
To watch the falling snow.

Snow is falling on Nagoya
And farther south
On the tiles of Kyoto.
Eastward, beyond Irago,

It is falling

Like leaves on the cold sea.


--Derek Mahon

Snow falls.
Falls upwards.
Drifting to the north.
Or like glass,
splintering the heart
Or like the soft tears
of the unredeemed.

I wait,
like a dark mirror,
for your image
to fall silently
Into my stillness
and rest,
lend me its colours.

I wait,
like a lake,
for time to end.
And for the rain to fall,
to draw empty circles on my being.

I wait,
like a child,
for Winter.
For fresh snow on my face,
the dazzling melting of Forms.

But you sit in your room
Alone by the window
Sip your green tea unaware
that I pour tea into china
for you.