Harlan D Whatley teaches at the School of International Studies at Huanghe S&T College in Zhengzhou, Henan, China. He has directed, produced, and written award-winning documentaries filmed around the world and screened at various festivals. HD’s short stories and poetry have appeared at Golden Isles Magazine, Birmingham Arts Journal, Heavy Hands Ink, Papercut, Poets for Living Waters, Warwick Unbound, and Word Salad. He is currently working on a novella and a short story. To learn more about him visit his web site.
Nanjing Blues
By HD Whatley
I walked through the Lion’s Bridge
Where they sell all the savory smelling food
And the neon lights along the Hunan Road taste like candy.
After my evening stroll, I took the No. 3 bus back to my hotel.
On Sunday it rained nearly all damn day long.
The skies were cloudy and my eyes were as grey as my hair.
I walked down the tree-lined streets near the university
Trying to forget why I came to this place I don’t know.
I saw a man sitting on the sidewalk with no legs
Fiddling away on a Chinese violin.
Some people gave him some money
But most people paid him no mind.
As I lie in bed on the 12-hour soft sleeper train
All the way back to dirty old Zhengzhou,
I wish for all the good things from back home.
I could really go for some hot apple pie à la mode.
It’s quite good. somehthing you can feel deeply but can not speak. Worth reading over and over.