The best place to
see life in Taiyuan
is to sit on the street.

Just by XueFu Park
on Tiyu road.

The arteries of the
city grasping for
space and meaning.
Husbands too tired to talk.
Wives waiting  for the next
episode.

Fireflies searching
for a neon light
Street cleaners who read
Hemingway.
Dancing ladies who
sing the old songs.

Taiyuan is alive
at night.

Once the Fen can breathe
no more and the dancing
ladies have lost their words,

Many more will sit by and watch
the shadows of their past reclaim
the streets of Taiyuan.

Unable to
move for fear of uncertainty.