On a Hanging Scroll By Shih K'ofa

the character
shu, 
meaning
to write,
appears,
the brush
leaving
on woven silk
the two or three 
quick strokes-- 
a wing 
upraised, at the start 
of its wingbeat, 
the tiny legs 
of the angel 
bent, 
hard running, 
and in front of 
the rounded, perfect
O
of the mouth,
blowing
with all its
breath-- 
the detached, 
invered, 
floating comma 
of a baseball cap, 
about to be blown away 
by the wind.
Credit

From What Falls Away, by Steve Lautermilch, published by Bright Hill Press. Copyright © 2001 by Steve Lautermilch. Used with permission. All rights reserved.