The Archeologist in the Little Town
The archeologist in the little town never married. When he was young
he fell in love with a woman. At the time she had just been excavated
and was stored in a strong coffin. One gloomy rainy day
local farmers exposed her to the public
she didn't have a stitch on, not even flesh
her silk blouse had turned to earth, her gold hair pin
had been put into the chief's pocket. He examined her teeth--
she was only sixteen. He examined her pelvis, his heart pumping hard
Her pubic bone shining smooth and full, as if there had never been a
trace of being pressed, on her chest as if there were shadows of breasts
trembling. Her head laid on a jade pillow
demonstrating a noble origin, thus inviolable
therefore immortal. That was in the 70s
He carefully hid her in the attic
since then no one mentioned her. In the 80s, he made her wear
a hair piece. In the 90s, he made her
squeeze into a pink bikini, spending the whole day lying in his bed
but her skeleton was broken, a few places crushed
He used plaster to mend it, bound the bottom of the body with solid steel
Only her skull is as perfect as before
Her jaw opens and closes smoothly like this: Da, Da, Da
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