Arthur Sze, the first Poet Laureate of Santa Fe, is the author of numerous poetry collections, including The Glass Constellation: New and Collected Poems and The Silk Dragon II: Translations of Chinese Poetry (Copper Canyon Press, 2024). The recipient of several awards, including a 2022 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, Sze is also a chancellor at the Academy of American Poets. He lives in Santa Fe and is a professor emeritus at the Institute of American Indian Arts.

Photograph by Jennifer Brummett.

Pig’s Heaven Inn

by Arthur Sze

Red chiles in a tilted basket catch sunlight—

we walk past a pile of burning mulberry leaves
into Xidi village, enter a courtyard, notice
an inkstone, engraved with calligraphy, filled
with water and cassia petals, smell Ming
dynasty redwood panels. As a musician lifts
a small xun to his mouth and blows, I see kiwis
People on couch
To continue reading please sign in.
Join for free
Already a reader? Sign In