"The Persistence of Life"
Two poems by Jianqing Zheng
The Persistence of Life —Eudora Welty’s "Day’s End" Autumn dusk. An old woman wobbles down the sidewalk. She wears a bucket hat, a dress, and an unbuttoned sweater, all in faded black. Her floral apron in faded white has a few rips. Is she a cook, a housemaid, a washwoman, or one like Phoenix Jackson plodding on the worn path into twilight? Her cotton shoes are worn as the faded brick pavers underfoot, but her eyes are sparkling under the hat. She drags on, and the sinking sun slides off her back. howling wind the leaning chapel remains standing
A Moment Apart —Eudora Welty’s "Political Speech" As the speaker stands high on the platform addressing the audience gathering in twos and threes, his stump speech that stirs up rounds of applause from excited people sounds more like a lullaby rocking a little girl lying in the shade to shuteye. Her mom sitting beside her chats with a woman, their voices a painted lady fluttering above the girl.
