APPLES, POETS, ROYAL CHINA, AND HISTORY
(Upon meeting Kornelius Platelis, the Poet Laureate of Lithuania in September, 2019)
A man who is sweet and simple
carries shining red apples
in his lumpy, bumpy briefcase.
A man who arrives in time
to meet aspiring poets and college students
knows his place in this world.
A man who treats syllables
like royal china
lives in the sky blue palace of humility.
A man who sees behind his eyes
never loses contact
with his nation’s history.
-Salman Akhtar –