He tells me the summer grass
is worth more than gold.
The seed in the worm’s mouth
sprouting on Tibetan hillsides
traditionally good for general health.
Perhaps I saw the documentary?
No, but his faltering description,
the little pencil sketch of the worm
as I try to understand why
he wants me to know this –
it’s not about the lucrative worm,
or the state of my general health, but as if
he can smell it, so far from these walls,
the summer grass, worth more than gold.