A pond moon grins white.
I jump in to splash it

into stars and emerge to see
a water polo floating.

Beat the flickering water
and try to catch the ball;

it slips off like a loach.
A backstroke, then I stretch

like a log, small fish
twitching between my legs.

Ghostflies spangle the sky
and the moon a trick mirror

with a shadow inside

which is, as a legend says,

Chang Er’s swaying sleeves
when she dances to dispatch

loneliness. What if
she changes into a mermaid

and swims with me tonight?

Note: Chang Er is the Chinese moon goddess, the legendary lady who swallowed elixir and flew to the moon.