Duet At Shanxi Normal University Linfen, China Poem by Andrew Burke

Duet At Shanxi Normal University Linfen, China



As I walked out late along Paragon Road
among students going hither and thither,
I heard a trained voice – male, operatic –
singing quietly to itself, ‘Maria, Maria’,
then Mandarin lyrics. I couldn’t understand
so I asked, ‘You sing “Maria”?’
He shook his head. I said, ‘You know,
“Maria” from West Side Story ...’ He
shook his head some more – so I sang
and he joined me and we sang
down Paragon Road to the gate,
my ‘Maria’, his Chinese song.

At the gate, between smiling sentries,
I tapped him on the shoulder and said,
‘Same melody has got me thinking,
it’s the same bloody song, mate!’

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
READ THIS POEM IN OTHER LANGUAGES
Andrew Burke

Andrew Burke

Melbourne / Australia
Close
Error Success