Ghost Town

Poems by Jianqing Zheng and photos by Eudora Welty

Jianqing Zheng is a prolific poet, photographer, and expert on the haiku form. He is also a Mississippi transplant who writes with deep care and insight about the landscape and community he now calls home. Today, we share three of his poems alongside the photos by Eudora Welty that inspired them.

“Hamlet / Rodney” by Eudora Welty. Copyright ©Eudora Welty, LLC; Reprinted courtesy of the Eudora Welty Collection, Mississippi Department of Archives and History, and Russell & Volkening as agents for the author’s estate.

Ghost Town

—Eudora Welty’s "Hamlet / Rodney"

The dirt road winds 
mile after mile into 
a river hamlet that 
many years ago 
surrendered to the 
walking dead of time 
pacing or tiptoeing 
with a light gait and
casting a cold eye
on the dilapidated 
churches and houses 
taken by the vines 
of kudzu to show
the irresistible 
power of nature.

“Dappled” by Eudora Welty. Copyright ©Eudora Welty, LLC; Reprinted courtesy of the Eudora Welty Collection, Mississippi Department of Archives and History, and Russell & Volkening as agents for the author’s estate.

Light of Day

—Eudora Welty’s "Dappled"

Soft sunlight coming 
through a shady tree dapples 
the washerwoman 

sitting by herself
on the dusty steps of a
shack. It’s a warm touch 

that enlivens sur-
roundings in a grayish shade.
Her white apron and 

headwrap highlight her 
posture as still and patient
as her steady look.

Two empty washtubs 
behind her also collect 
some dapples. When wind

rustles dry leaves, light
and shadow dance like angels 
to delight her eyes

when a weary day
softens its hardness slowly
into dappled light.

“If it rains / Jackson” by Eudora Welty. Copyright ©Eudora Welty, LLC; Reprinted courtesy of the Eudora Welty Collection, Mississippi Department of Archives and History, and Russell & Volkening as agents for the author’s estate.

Before Rain
—Eudora Welty's "If it rains" 

1
A young woman

wearing a paper hat
to protect her hair
from the coming rain
 
stands on the sidewalk
her smile shines like light
 
2
An old bicycle
 
leans limply
against the wall
of a roadside store
 
waiting to spin rain
on its wheels
 
3
A figure drags
 
down the street
a blur into
the shades of gray
 
closing in
to darken the sky
 
4
The road of life

has rain and storm
now and then
treat it with a smile
 
though only paper hats
can be worn

---

Jianqing Zheng is the author of The Dog Years of Reeducation (Madville Publishing, 2023), A Way of Looking (Silverfish Review Press, 2021), Enforced Rustication in the Chinese Cultural Revolution (Texas Review Press, 2019), Delta Sun (Red Moon Press 2018), and The Landscape of Mind (Slapering Hol Press, 2002). His edited books include Conversations with Dana Gioia, African American Haiku, The Other World of Richard Wright, and Sonia Sanchez’s Poetic Spirit through Haiku. He is a professor of English at Mississippi Valley State University where he edits Valley Voices: A Literary Review. Zheng’s newest chapbook Just Looking: Haiku Sequences about the Mississippi Delta is available for download via Open: Journal of Arts and Literature. Zheng’s next poetry collection, Dreaminations, is forthcoming from Madville Publishing. He coedited Dana Gioia: Poet & Critic (Mercer UP, 2024).

Read more by Jianqing Zheng—