Some favourite passages from this book of lyric poems on "scroll paintings and woodblock prints from Japan's Edo period, which spanned 1603-1868":
She from the spent cushion
grasps his clothing, not
to keep him but to indicate pleasure-
given loyalty.
She from the spent cushion
grasps his clothing, not
to keep him but to indicate pleasure-
given loyalty.
from "Lover Taking Leave of a Courtesan"
Bitter-
sweet longing becomes inflected
with song.
from "Hibiscus and Korean Nightingale"
How cool
the light in this region of no awe. Welcome
middle register: sane, calm.
end of "Sparrows and Camelia"
A boatman reclines on the roof
and smokes. In mist, he is invisible,
swept along, an absent-
minded god.
and smokes. In mist, he is invisible,
swept along, an absent-
minded god.
from "Riverboat Party"
Adrenaline mixes with caution, ready
to ride toward what is destined. What molten gold
feels before it's poured into the ring mold.
end of "Young Samurai on Horseback"
Water holds blueness not much longer. Death
will costume it in its color, and the honking of geese
will give voice to its grieving.
end of "Descending Geese at Katana"
As imitation bends toward knowledge, so pleasure
becomes a version of love.
from "Courtesan with Her Attendant"
A cricket on the pampas grass
outside wants in. Plotting its escape
from what looks like freedom.
end of "Crickets, Cafe, and Flowers"
Sensuous
admissions, the wilderness
of another breached, known.
from "Lovers in the Snow"
Delighted
against a camouflage of like-minded flowers, the yellows
and green work to keep him hidden,
safe in imagination, before the world gallops in, offering
promises of glory, real swords and real horses.
end of "Boy Dancing with a Hobby-Horse"
