The dragons
have gone, fled confinement
restricted metropolis. Small street,
steamed buns and tea. Boutique
oasis.
Finding a tea ceremony in hectic Beijing, that contrast, was one of the lasting memories of visiting China that first time. What was true for Beijing, was also true for Shanghai and Hong Kong, the other metropolises we visited that trip. A beautiful contrast between the hectic streets and the calm of tea. Or tai chi practising people in the park. It inspired this haiku:
Temples and hutongs,
dragons and people abound.
Tea an oasis.
Now, roughly fourteen years later and in a different metropolis, we came into a tea oasis again. In what normally is the hectic centre of Paris, we visited a place we learned about in the series Chef’s Table France on Netflix: boutique yam’Tcha. We really wanted to try their bao. And of course the tea. Even in a world-famous city that is empty because of COVID-related restrictions, the boutique is an oasis. Enough to inspire a new poem.
The bao and tea were, obviously, delicious. We will certainly try them again. The friendliness and calm of the owner and tea-master Chi Wah Chan make this a perfect place for a break. Should be top of your list once you can travel and visit Paris again.
The poem on top is a tritriplicata, a poetic form I created. If you want to know more about it, click here to find answers to some of the questions you might have.
Be sure to find more poetry below the fold…
Poetry Elsewhere
One of my favorite poets, A. Christine Meyers, shared a wonderful poem on spring rains. As we have seen a lot of that here, too, it feels like a connection from France to the US: It’s Raining.
Clichés. Worn out but often true. Give them to a gifted poet, and they can turn them into something beautiful again. Like Suzanne Kiera Anthony did here.
“Poetry, like bread, is for everyone.” Something I firmly believe in. Those, by the way, are not my words. They are from the translation of the poem Como Tú by Roque Dalton. The message is very close to my heart. Poetry is for everyone, love love and life, beauty is everywhere. I found this poem via the beautiful visual poetry clip Paris Poetry by Alex Soloviev.