ancient china is
awake––
running, leaping,
stretching
every morning
it fills
1.3 billion stomachs
it is constructing grand
spaces for its people
to habitate
& mostly
avoiding war
cathay is not afraid
of sweat & its muscles
are straining to dominate
the good earth
has it finally vanquished
the floods & starvations
of the past & the seizures
of the imperial brain?
only overwhelming greed
can poison the lungs
or acts of catastrophic ego
can defer
the great dragon heart
in its climb
to the summits
of the celestial mountains