Poems of Akira Yamashita

Poems by Akira

KATSUOJI TEMPLE

Walk with me, my friend
And let us see
If Osaka still has traces
Of the air she breathed

Thirty years ago
I remember that she walked on that noisy street with her friends
To visit Katsuoji Temple
She laughed and caught my eye
The street fell silent for that second
And I froze and died

I ran inside
There was no one except a silent monk
With eyes closed, contemplating time
But someone had left some burning incense
The smoke drifted away from me

Which is why I ask, my friend
If you can walk the streets of Osaka with me
To see if there are traces
Of the air she breathed

Thirty years ago

The White Lily

I placed a white lily, the whitest of them
On the grave of her memory
And soon, more sprung up
I saw the birds sit close by, not touching
I sat with my koto, some distance away

And now
I caress myself
With the dust
Of a thousand and one white lilies

Do not hold my hand
Till the dust has washed away
And I no longer remember

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YOKAHAMA HARBOUR

You have forgotten perhaps
The breeze that drifted in from the Sea
When we sat on a bench at Yokohama Harbour
Speaking in silence

Look, I finally said
That ship, the one there
Do you think it is leaving for Singapore?
Shall we go too?

You did not respond then
The ship stopped, perhaps in hope
You looked away and so did I
For the salt we tasted
Was not of the sea breeze
But of the tears of hopelessness

The ship sighed and moved on
I touched the sleeve of your kimono
Slowly, very slowly, I felt nothing
I watched you become a cold ghost
Becoming mist, not responding

Today, I see in the paper
That the Emperor has called for volunteers
For the war in the Philippines
I have already lost
But I shall go.

KINKAKUJI TEMPLE

I saw you walk
Towards the Kinkakuji temple
The trees dipped and the sunlight moved slowly
The pebbles froze as your feet touched them
The morning fog stayed on

Perhaps you knew I was watching
You moved your kimono just a little
Saying No.

I wrote a haiku on the silent pebbles
Of Kinkakuji Temple

Blue slivers of sky
A pale face etched in the clouds
A heart breaks quietly

I walked away to Kyoto
Your image in the shrine
In the temple within me

 

The White Lily
-------------------

Soon time will pass
You know? Like sand through an hour glass

In the morning, when no one sees
The white lily blooms very slowly
And the Swans hide in shame; their beauty
Is nothing
I play the koto and the Lily listens
The white becomes pink, the blush of knowing
How beautiful she is

But soon the sun climbs down
The air is tired and the koto
It falters
An eagle watches coldly as it soars
Soon it knows, this pulchritude will fade
And it shall feast
On the dreams of a soul in agony
White is white, you thought
The koto reduces to dust
The Lily droops
The petals break away

MITO-SAN

Love – very important
Information
It is music from my koto
Kimono soft rustling noise
I make Ikebana flower arrangements for Mito-san
She give me silent words and eyes looking down
We give the information to each other
Of the love

No, this is not Kabuki
It is the real information
Of Love
In Osaka
Many years ago.

 

DESTINY

I do not care to be told
That this is destiny.
And you must go.

We walked in the streets of Hiroshima that day
And saw nothing,
But you did not cry for the thousands.
The smoke hung close to the ground
Collecting memories of lovers.
I took you to your house
But it was gone.
You did not cry then.
But I did.
For people I had never met.

But now when we must part
You cry and I watch
While you use logic to explain
That this is best.
That the throbbing pain of two
Is more than the torment
Of those who evaporated
In Hiroshima.

I do not care to be told
That this is destiny.
And you must go.