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
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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.
12 Thursday Oct 2017
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(Mitsuoki: Burke albums)
The Uji fish weirs
gave up a generous catch,
but he could not hook
the one he wanted to land.
His disquietened heart
was like a turbulent sea.
The wind gave a sigh,
echoing his solitude.
He was a boat snared in reeds.
She felt abandoned:
was it only amusement
that he had desired?
Did he really want to wed
a much more well-placed lady?
08 Sunday Oct 2017
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(Metropolitan Museum Art http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/55.94.1.2;
Momoyama period. Tale of Genji)
…difficult to leave –
the cherry blossoms in bud
and also the mists
from the mountains, in evening.
She had misgivings,
but put on her floral robes
for the city move.
She thought of her dead sister.
Kaoru offered his service.
She was so distressed.
Poignancy of rose plum scent
tinctured memories.
She gifted her combs to nuns
and the carriages arrived.
07 Saturday Oct 2017
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(Image: Brooklyn Museum)
Her anger enhanced
the strong attraction he felt,
but her frank consent
was what he was awaiting.
He had spent a long
time feigning indifference.
Now he lay down beside her,
restraining himself all night.
They stood on the verandah,
watching the dawn sky.
It was a perfect moment.
The city beckoned.
He withdrew silently; his
scent impregnated her robes.
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.
18 Monday Sep 2017
Posted in Humour, Language, Poetry, Relationships, Romance, Social Comment, Writing
‘You could see it as a triumph of hope
over experience,’ the best man said.
‘He has hanged himself twice with his own rope
and he is lying in his own made bed.
To lose a wife was careless, but two…!
Third time lucky is what we wish for him.
To pull this latest one is quite a coup.’
Everyone was laughing, but the bride, grim,
brushed her hair from the tattoo on her neck:
Nil Desperandum – she had just had it done.
The sheepish groom thought, ‘I really must check
whom he quoted – Oscar Wilde, Dr Johnson?’
‘Sperm in alium,’ the cynics might say
when she posts her wedding gown on E-Bay.
15 Friday Sep 2017
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(Scroll image:Museum Fine Arts, Boston_ Wm Sturgis Bigelow Collection)
Back in the city,
the salt burners’ pungent whiff
lingered on his clothes.
Before any discordance,
he hoped to return.
Would the koto stay in tune?
He wept to leave her,
as he’d wept on arrival.
When Murasaki was told,
about the lady,
she shrugged porcelain shoulders.
He took the reproof,
so gently given, yet wrote
two further love messages.
15 Friday Sep 2017
Posted in Arts, Horticulture, Literature, Nostalgia, Poetry, Relationships, Romance, Writing
Back to The Tale of Genji and another choka:
The wormwood unpruned
and the bullrushes thickened;
bindweed chokes the gate;
brambles deter thieves, while dust
settles in the hall.
Outside tree spirits,
now emboldened, break cover.
Though neglected, she keeps faith.
The Prince passes by;
detects familiar scent:
the wistaria!
Her stoicism
lends her added dignity;
her defects seem diminished.
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?
