Narrow Han River Round Rocks Briskly Poem by David Barry Temple

narrow Han River rounds rocks briskly
tumbles through the corkscrew
passes the Taoist temple on the western shore
then finds open relief through boulder gates
to wide doldrums in calm resting places
pond-like glassy pool quiet
egret wading
sandy lines along the shore peaceful shore
a tiny beach for sun-bathed napping, resting
quenching pack of Taiwanese dogs
downstream winds deeper and steeper
becomes a narrow rapids squeezing
against a concrete embankment squeezing
bottom tier of two leaking waterfalls
adding to the Han under steel floodgates
floodgates abused by factory suds flushed
enters reality
and wrong-way scooters on bike paths
superimposed on cataract mountain views
suffers behind messy streets
of fabricated corrugated warehouses
littering the corridor between river and mountain
from Feng-Yuan to Tan-Zih
hillside mausoleums of death
urn living pitilessly
obstructing nature's beauty