In the quiet hush of morning, poet Xiaoly Li highlights connection and harmony among opposing forces, even while a storm looms in the near future. In explaining Light Breaks the Barrier, Xiaoly stated, “When looking into the deeper reality, not the surface one, you will feel connected through each moment with everything and beloved, and let the worry and infighting go.”
Light Breaks the Barrier
I walk along the quiet road
in the pre-storm dawn, listen to Walden, where Thoreau
explored half-inch-long red and black ants
who fight resolutely.
Then I examine that red-hearted rose of Sharon,
our fluffy bear-looking puppy,
even the pale moss.
Look long and hard.
And my daughter—
plays hide and seek with the dog;
tiptoes to cover every pear with netting,
to protect them from squirrels and deer;
finds the wild purslane to cook with garlic.
No bickering nor worrying.
Sometimes the morning
mist melts the boundaries.
Xiaoly Li
Xiaoly Li is a poet and photographer who lives in Massachusetts. Prior to writing poetry, she published stories in a selection of Chinese newspapers. Her photography, which has been shown and sold in galleries in Boston, often accompanies her poems. Her poetry is forthcoming or has recently appeared in Spillway, American Journal of Poetry, PANK, Atlanta Review, Chautauqua, Rhino, Cold Mountain Review, J Journal and elsewhere; and in several anthologies. She has been nominated for Best of the Net twice, Best New Poets, and a Pushcart Prize. Xiaoly received her Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and her Masters in computer science and engineering from Tsinghua University in China.