Response to touring Xi Hu (West Lake)
No. 1 with Tiffany
Speaking of renowned beauty, riding police car,
Still remember singing praises with you in NYC.
Spanish tourist, Italian hotties, relishing dessert happiness.
Laughter, language, walk, play--both forget losses.
My friend Tiffany, whom I met at Times Square Church and who has been living in Shanghai for the past few months, and I tried to visit Hangzhou but I forgot my passport and she lost her wallet so we spent the day dealing with taxi drivers, taking the subway back and forth to the train station, and the police report. On one of the subway rides, we met a Spanish man traveling with an Italian man and chatted with them. The previous day, we had had lovely dessert. I had imagined myself on a boat snacking with her in honor of my grandma's poem, but it wasn't meant to be.
No. 2 with myself
Hearing of famous lake aboard crowded ferry.
Still remember pacing hallways, hands clasped behind your back.
Purple flowers, yellow pineapple, munching snack happiness.
Laughter, foreign mother's tongue, sit, think: remember what could have been.
The next day, Tiffany had to work but I really wanted to visit Hangzhou before I left, so I went by myself. Since I was by myself, no one would rent me a boat and I resorted to boarding a crowded boat with about forty other tourists. At one point, everyone was talking so loudly, I laughed because we couldn't hear the guide at all.
It was actually my maternal grandmother who paced the hallways but this is sort of an ode to all my grandparents since I never really got to know them while they were alive.
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