From Jingshan peak
They surveyed the world
From the heart
Of The Middle Kingdom
They surveyed the world
From the heart
Of The Middle Kingdom
All around sprawled Beijing
The forbidding North
With the Emperor’s city
And beyond, the high mountains
While to the south
The fertile fields
Feeding millions
Serving their emperor
Today
Today is a good day
So I see a few blocks beyond
The city of gold and red
But in the weeks I am here
I will never see the mountains
Which once, were just there
It would have seemed, beyond the red walls
Until I leave
Bicycle into them
And finally escape
Beijing’s smog
The Forbidden City
From Jingshan
Beijing, China
From Jingshan
Beijing, China
Taken during travels, 1998
A response to the Smog edition of this week’s One Word Photo Challenge.