Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Snuffboxes

Seattle Asian Art Museum, 2/15/12

Rank and file stand the snuffboxes
Waiting for inspection.
Their only uniformity: their usage.
Some were grace with delicate brushwork
Depicting maybe a horse grazing beneath a tree
Or a heron wetting is toes
Waiting for a chance to spear 
Something to whet its appetite 
Others are mimics of geisha girls
Or bulge-eyed coy, dragonfly or
A nephrite rabbit mid munch.
They all hold a musky scent of aged tobacco
Laced with the aromatics of mint, compher, or jasmine
They stand in failing light
Awaiting inspection
But never granted the release
Of validation.

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