Samurai mother
Excerpts included in And now the weather at Logan Center Exhibitions, 2020
Excerpts included in Springfest hosted by FOTA, 2019
Excerpts included in And now the weather at Logan Center Exhibitions, 2020
Excerpts included in Springfest hosted by FOTA, 2019
SAMURAI MOTHER
I am born red
And shriveled as an old monkey.
Oh how extraordinary is my entrance
Into the warm landscape
Of my mother’s natal home.
I am folded at right angles and starched.
I am lain one atop the other and smoothed.
I am also kneaded and groomed
In the fashion of love.
But it is painful to grow,
And especially to one day find myself
A human woman.
A mound of earth.
Recurring as if memorial, even of my own memory.
Many ways to be cut down.
I fold at right angles and starch.
I lay one atop the other and smooth.
I also learn my way around a long weapon
In the fashion of defense.
A mother’s wisdom newly tells me
The sword is only sharper than a kitchen knife
Because it has encountered fewer hard radishes.
Even when it is cloudy
There is every morning a rising sun.
This much is undeniable.
How long will this sun stay in my sky?
This much is in question,
And I wonder whether there is much violence
On the other side of the distant line.
2019
I am born red
And shriveled as an old monkey.
Oh how extraordinary is my entrance
Into the warm landscape
Of my mother’s natal home.
I am folded at right angles and starched.
I am lain one atop the other and smoothed.
I am also kneaded and groomed
In the fashion of love.
But it is painful to grow,
And especially to one day find myself
A human woman.
A mound of earth.
Recurring as if memorial, even of my own memory.
Many ways to be cut down.
I fold at right angles and starch.
I lay one atop the other and smooth.
I also learn my way around a long weapon
In the fashion of defense.
A mother’s wisdom newly tells me
The sword is only sharper than a kitchen knife
Because it has encountered fewer hard radishes.
Even when it is cloudy
There is every morning a rising sun.
This much is undeniable.
How long will this sun stay in my sky?
This much is in question,
And I wonder whether there is much violence
On the other side of the distant line.
2019
𐍊𐍊𐍊
Sleep 1, 2019.
Sleep 2, 2019.
Sleep 3, 2019.