(Manyoshu--Collection of 10,000 Leaves--refers to a literary movement from the 8th century in which approx. 4,500 Japanese poems were collected across all social classes in Japan)


I want to dream wildly
on a bed of ancient poems,
like the Collection of 10,000 Leaves--
no futon, just let Manyoshu cover me

I want each fluid calligraphy stroke
to fossilize upon my porcelain skin, all
words and worlds, a literary tattoo collective--
beggars, soldiers, writers, emperors!

I want to rub Tanka verses like sea salts
against my wounded skin, bow to ancestral spirits
Before a Shinto shrine--where homage always sings
To Amaterasu, the sun goddess!

I want just one moonlit night in the Heian period*
Or even amidst the first flurry of Noh**
To muse over monogatari*** and classical poetry--
Unwrapping myself in the silken scrolls of Lady Marusaki!

08/19/2005

Author's Note: * = Heian period: (approx 794-1192)known as the great age of women writers, when women became the masters of major classical prose genres, including the memoir, the diary, and the monogatari. ** = Noh: a Japanese drama style of the 14th century that incorporates all elements of theatrical performance: poetry, music, dance, mask, make-up, and gesture. *** = Monogatari: a Japanese fictional storytelling similar to the novel, from the Heian period.

Posted on 08/19/2005
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