in the yoga class, breathing Ardha Padmasana,
            my rusted shoulders don't florally grace
                 half lotus

      green thumbs agree Dan's brittle lemon tree can't resist
            superannuants bracing the Wall Street crisis
                  and stiff winds

      crossed legs unlatch reluctant joints I bend with classmates
            downward facing dogs posed hard in fiscal
                  inertia

      sunlight strikes the red hedge, bounces with the late breeze
            fresh green backs bailing out American
                  mortgage debt

      Zhai radios from the vastness of space, 'I am proud,
            Chairman Hu, people of China, mission
                  accomplished.'

      the smell of new mown grass wafts, the village school bell rings,
            a rooster crows far from my rhythmic breaths,
                  mind scudding

      this ordinary life: cobra uncoiling is Kylie;
            she meditates on mildew powdering
                  garden beans