19 Thursday Oct 2017
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(Parting Lovers: Suzuki Harunubo)
Leaving when dew-drenched
invites interpretation.
No one will believe
the reception was icy.
Wild speculation
of others gives brief pleasure.
Some women whisper:
Why has he no change of clothes?
It is obvious he stayed.
And yet, he did not.
Secrets are not secrets long.
Those smart theorists said:
Maybe they sinned in past lives.
Yes, and perhaps they did too.
17 Tuesday Oct 2017
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( Artist: Ogata Gekko; chapter 44 Tale of Genji:
Courtiers under a Pine tree; Japanese Art Open
Database)
A pine’s thousand years
is longer than a man’s life
and resolution
will fluctuate over time.
He reached for her hand.
She knew what that foreshadowed.
Could he be deterred?
Composure is challenging.
Would things work out in the end?
Waiting is so hard.
Enlightenment may be found —
and transformation.
But does self-loathing turn men
into eventual saints?
15 Sunday Oct 2017
Posted in art, Arts, Literature, Poetry, Psychology, Relationships, Writing
(Commons Wikipedia; Geisha by Toyohara Kunichika)
He groped for some words,
in order to detain her
and clutched at her sleeve,
speaking of shameful regrets.
She felt quite ambushed
and couldn’t hide her new state:
her pregnancy, plain
to see, now that it advanced,
only emphasised closure.
She must accept Fate,
even as she was unmasked.
How could she deflect
the vagaries that were thrown
and to whom should she be true?
14 Saturday Oct 2017
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(Nakanokimi being serenaded)
To switch affection
to Nakanokimi was
to replace a love
unrequited, for something
less passionate and,
for her, humiliating.
The vesper bells rang.
The prince arrived, unhappy.
She was relenting at last,
in spite of herself.
He was irresistible.
He left for Sanjo,
to make plans to bring her back.
Kaoru wished he’d done the same.
13 Friday Oct 2017
Posted in art, Arts, Literature, Nostalgia, Philosophy, Poetry, Psychology, Relationships, Romance, Writing
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(Lotus Sutra; Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Sugawara Mitsushige, 1257AD. Acc no: 53.7.3)
The Lotus Sutra
was continually read.
Twelve priests in fine voice
took turns to comfort the girl.
In a former life,
perhaps they had been as one.
The dawn gales were cruel,
mimcking the plovers’ cries.
Sins from a previous life
were bringing sorrow.
How could he relinquish her?
She was going to die
and he would not survive her.
He would fulfil her last wish.
24 Sunday Sep 2017
Posted in art, Arts, Literature, Nostalgia, Poetry, Psychology, Relationships, Romance, Writing
(Image: Wikimedia Commons)
It is quite futile
to torment oneself over
the inconstancy
of the opposite sex, she
declared, with a sigh.
The cockerel crowed early
and she had not slept,
but she trespassed on his dreams.
He left the woman’s chamber
on the first pretext.
Now he was back home,
there was no comparison-
just as sprigs of plum blossom
differ greatly from cherry.
13 Wednesday Sep 2017
Posted in Arts, Literature, Nature, Poetry, Psychology, Relationships, Romance, Writing
Even after death,
entrenched jealousy persists,
tainting a man’s new
relationships, endeavours,
with melancholy.
Lady of Orange Blossoms,
you were a comfort.
The cherry branches broken;
exile no place for spouses.
Stripped of his office,
a cock crowed as he discussed
memories, regrets.
The waning moon obscured him:
his a shadowy future?
13 Wednesday Sep 2017
Posted in Arts, Literature, Poetry, Psychology, Relationships, Romance, Writing
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affective, blue stocking, choka, chrysanthemum, cognitive, Genji, Murasaki Shikibu, The Day of the Iris
Clever poetess,
you can cross- reference
the Ancients, Classics,
but I don’t want to compose
verses to please you
on The Day of The Iris,
or Chrysanthemum.
I don’t want to be bothered
by having to best your work;
to dash off poems all day
gets in the way of wooing.
Blue stockings should learn
cognitive restraint.
Seduction is affective.
09 Saturday Sep 2017
Posted in art, Arts, Literature, mythology, Nostalgia, Poetry, Psychology, Relationships, Romance, Writing
(Honolulu Museum of Art. Fireflies by
Eishosai Choki, c 1793)
She had to pretend
she was unaware of things:
to evade the one;
she admitted another.
The prince brought jars of fireflies
and released them round her face.
She raised a coy fan
and her profile was charming.
A brief glimpse of radiance
was mesmerising,
re-kindling his heart’s bright flame.
He showed great restraint.
On The Day of the Iris,
he knew love was taking root.
06 Wednesday Sep 2017
Posted in art, Arts, Literature, Music, mythology, Nostalgia, Poetry, Psychology, Relationships, Romance, Writing
Somehow the music
seemed uncannily sublime,
owing to context
and the monk’s skilful technique.
Maybe ambition
for his daughter inspired him.
As desired and planned,
Kenji wrote a note,
to which the father replied
on Michinoku paper.
Dignified response
whetted the prince’s desire.
The chill sea winds blew.
Would his lonely bed be warmed
by The Akashi Lady?
