The Imperial City in Hue was magnificently grand – so much so that I was inspired to write a poem, which I shall be sharing below:

Everything’s moving

Everything’s breathing

Everything’s being

And with each change of season

These courts have witnessed scenes beyond reason

From emperors whispering to concubines to the Queen Mother telling her son not to worry cause his legacy will never die

And indeed she did not lie

Because these hoards of tourists shuffling through quiet halls

Are paying respect to the secrets forever kept within these walls

“Hue had become a city of the dead.” Mark Bowden