(The Mongols were unable to capture the fortified cities
of China until, in the year 1220, a Chin engineer, Liu
Po Lin, entered the service of Genghis Khan, and taught
to the invaders the art of siege warfare.)
Liu Po Lin
turned coat
and shaved his beard
In the glass, dressed in skins, he looked like them
But he wasn’t
When he saw
the ruins of the city
where his sister’s children lived
he must have wondered
Why must we place our livelihood
above everything?
I am no different
When my belly is empty
it is my natural stance to grovel
In the desert
there were no stones
nothing to put on top
nothing to build under
He wandered amongst the tents
that now subserved the emperor
who was the conqueror of the universe
This is their capital
he wept. This is their capital.