The Sun Sets in the East

The Sun Sets in the East

Death before - the empire fourth;
held against the ancestrals' stores
Ten thousand thousand marched as one
Winter fields splashed carrion
Celestial Cow, Hell-bound Eel
White Jade Tower, Peony Gates
Sky Harbor, Chrysanthemum Lakes
Among the names of things that were
Desolate swirls where had crowded
living steps and harvest-won fests.
forever promised: nevermore
Thrones sit as empty as the land
The dragons have been laid to rest
withered lotus, pounded ash
Phoenix, perhaps, but none the rest

? ? ? ?
Shen Leung Kuo Kun, exiled Fifteenth

Hjolda, that was a fine bit of work!