~ Delta Poetry Review ~

Night in the Woods

The steady thrum

of ice pellets

on the metal roof

of my log cabin

crackles loneliness

crackles loneliness

into Charlie Parker’s

bebop that pops

for an eagerness

to forget the self

to forget the self

mind hopscotches

into old days

for a joyful bebop

this awesome night

this awesome night

roof is a stage

wind a saxophone

hail a steel drum

trees a choir, and me

a lucky audience of one

 Jianqing Zheng’s recent poetry collections include Dreaminations (Madville, 2026), Visual Chords (Broken Tribe, 2025), Soulful Dancer, coauthored with the photographer William Ferris (Blue Horse, 2025), and Delta Lenscapes, a collection of photo haiku (Nun Prophet, 2025). Under the name of John Zheng, he is the editor or coeditor of ten books, including Sonia Sanchez’s Poetic Spirit through Haiku (Lexington Books, 2017), Conversations with Dana Gioia (UP of Mississippi, 2020), and Dana Gioia: Poet & Critic (Mercer UP, 2024).