Five Tanka-Cleaves
Mt. Rainier
"when I compose poetry
I compose only for myself"
—Nakamura Kasatao
I'm obscure—insignificant
my cleaves—immature
my expression—inadequate
the falling rain—how far
away—Rainier is receding
Hodō (Pavement)
mishima yukio—is dead
how many—postwar periods
does it take—to revive tanka
each time—boyhood wisteria
ancient fossils—limestone sidewalks
moonlit night—crinoids wiggling
Saitō Mokichi (1882-1953)
one foot on a—rotten banana peel
only a few steps—away from me
yolk of death—fricassée à la ancienne
the wretched rain—reminding me of
elizabeth taylor—rains of ranchipur
Self-Portrait
a self-portrait—of van gogh
weekend—swirling stars overhead
a cross-eyed man—Carnivàle-esque
making me feel—like gulping down
the palm of my—screaming hand
Mt. Fuji / Mt. Rainier
in the evening—darkness sunsets
untouched by—freeway headlights
a seagull flies—flying upward
aspiration for heights—clouds tailing
across the face—Mt. Fuji / Rainier
Mt. Rainier
"when I compose poetry
I compose only for myself"
—Nakamura Kasatao
I'm obscure—insignificant
my cleaves—immature
my expression—inadequate
the falling rain—how far
away—Rainier is receding
Hodō (Pavement)
mishima yukio—is dead
how many—postwar periods
does it take—to revive tanka
each time—boyhood wisteria
ancient fossils—limestone sidewalks
moonlit night—crinoids wiggling
Saitō Mokichi (1882-1953)
one foot on a—rotten banana peel
only a few steps—away from me
yolk of death—fricassée à la ancienne
the wretched rain—reminding me of
elizabeth taylor—rains of ranchipur
Self-Portrait
a self-portrait—of van gogh
weekend—swirling stars overhead
a cross-eyed man—Carnivàle-esque
making me feel—like gulping down
the palm of my—screaming hand
Mt. Fuji / Mt. Rainier
in the evening—darkness sunsets
untouched by—freeway headlights
a seagull flies—flying upward
aspiration for heights—clouds tailing
across the face—Mt. Fuji / Rainier
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