13. stalked old people today

stalked old people today,
toeing the damp, well-packed soil
just as the 6am sun nosed the horizon
​less predator
more iPhone photog
wannabe tai ji chuan master

as i creep along as inconspicuously as
my turquoise pants & fewer than 40 years of age
​allow,
hoping that the migrant senior citizens would lead me 
to the rest of their qi-tonifying flock
i think how this is not what people meant when
they called me an old soul

the path splits and so does the pack
of elderly i panic this was not part of the plan i had planned before coming here 
only in China is the local park also the Temple-of-fucking-Heaven
—but not Fucking Heaven, that's crass
i glance around, hoping the seniors hadn't read my thoughts
apologizing mentally in case they had

a wrinkled lady says tai ji is anywhere you look &
then spits 
i think i either heard wrong or need new eyes

i'm in the middle of getting myself lost
on my way out when
i find them
the elusive morning tai ji elders
raising their arms in unison, as if in welcome
i join them, quiet
but am soon chased away
it's okay
i came for what the day gave me
and left smiling from the inside out

people practicing taijichuan at the temple of heaven