Portraits
Mary Soon Lee
Only two official portraits
ever made of King Xau:
the one in the throne room
depicts him after he won
his first war--
seventeen years old,
robed in red, crowned in
gold,
no hint of triumph
on the boy's stern face.
They caught Tian off guard.
She'd finished cleaning
the king's rooms,
had an armful of dirty
cloths
as she stepped out into the
hall--
The king and his guards
were lined up along the
wall.
They all bowed to her--
to her--
and led her into the
breakfast room,
the table laid with plates,
tea bowls, a single
mooncake.
King Xau pulled out a chair
for her,
the king beaming, Tian
speechless.
The king cut the mooncake
into little pieces,
scattering crumbs.
He handed the first piece
to her.
"Happy Birthday,
Tian."
Tian sniffed noisily
as the king gave bits of
mooncake
to his guards, poured tea.
If she tried thanking the
king,
she'd end up in tears.
So instead she gestured at
the crumbs,
the plates, the bowls, said
sharply,
"Who'll clear all this
up?"
"Captain Li
will," said Xau.
"He's getting
lazy."
"The king will,"
said Captain Li.
"I will incorporate
the clean up
into today's training
session."
"You see?" said
Xau. "He's lazy."
The second portrait,
painted by the master Pei
Tsu,
given, in a gesture of
outlandish generosity,
to an elderly cleaning
woman:
black ink wash on silk,
the king in profile,
smiling as if at a friend.
Poet's Notes:
This is a poem about King
Xau, the fictional hero of my epic fantasy The Sign of the Dragon. Xau spends most of his time doing what he believes is best for his kingdom:
meeting with his ministers, entertaining envoys, commanding his cavalry, etc.
But he prefers the company of his family, his guards, and his elderly cleaning
woman.
In writing the epic, I
tried to vary the point of view to present a broader perspective. This poem is
one of three from Tian's point of view. I also tried to balance the darker,
more serious moments with others where Xau has a chance to relax. More poems about King Xau may be found in
Songs of Eretz Poetry Review http://eretzsongs.blogspot.com/search?q=Xau and at http://www.thesignofthedragon.com.
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