Little Place of Forgetting - Brass Window Books

continue. Anyone who chose to take the poem any further along
sinister or cynical lines would be making a reckless choice indeed.
“The fifth courtier saw an opportunity to display his
aesthetic sense, now that the controversy was over and the
consequences deferred until later. He made sure that everyone else
was silent, and said, quietly-
“ ‘In ecstasies of white-do you recall?’
“But the Lord General was determined to destroy himself.
He threw his head back, as if in a silent laugh, and said-
“ ‘The autumn moon had mentioned we would fall...’
“The thirteenth courtier had no more need to drive the
General to ruination. The man had ensured his own execution with
this line of the poem, which sounded like a prophecy of doom on
the entire Court.
“Then the foreigner surprised me. As I mentioned, he had
seemed afraid. But now he defied all protocol and stepped forward
to confront the Lord General directly. They locked eyes and ignored
the rest of us to finish the poem between the two of them.
“The foreigner said, ‘In ecstasies of silver-don’t forget,’ and
the general replied, ‘The winter sun became a stone of jet.’
“I shuddered. The Emperor had turned around and was
staring at them. The foreigner referred to the first verse of the
poem-
“ ‘And I remember how the autumn moon / Can liquefy and
lie till we’re exposed / In altered shades of bland, anemic rose.’
“The general responded, in triumph, ‘And I remember how
the autumn moon / Solidified and lied till it revealed...’
“He left the final line for the foreigner, and waited, wearing
a sly grin. The foreigner turned his head and looked at the moon,
then returned his eyes to the laughing eyes of the General.
“ ‘My subtle shades of dull and shining steel,’ he said, and
finished the poem.”
“On the day of Cumori’s execution, the foreigner was seated
below and to the right of the Emperor. His Majesty had decided to
reward him for besting the insolent General at the moon-watching
ceremony.
“ ‘I only desired to protect your dignity,’ the barbarian had
said, flattering the Emperor like a true courtier! The final line of the
poem had been phrased as if no one had ever referred to the
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