Shifu in tai-chi class—

the more bitter the medicine,
the more potent.

As a girl, I ate guiyuan*
as dessert

not as medicine
—flesh out of the rind,

one-eyed seeds
in oceanside

Danshui—
            fishing town

toad-skinned
guiyuan tree of eyes

burning a sea
of body heat—

vitality.
Do not consume

too much guiyuan,
fire qi.

What is so bitter
about guiyuan?

Fire sang
bitter to sweet.