Takanata's Poems
Contents |
Book One
The Shadow of the Wall
- Two mice jump and tumble
- Pale as the moon, brown as a leaf
- Yet the same
- Two mice freeze beneath the sky
- Hearts fluttering in terror
- The claws descend
- The memory of light moves away from the shadow
The Providence of Coincidence
- The journey of a thousand li
- Begins with one very bad day
- A handful of stones from the river bed
- Were not born together
- Did not shape each other
- But are placed into the wall together
- To hold back the storm
Ghost Hunters
- Sand stretches in all directions
- Footsteps lead south in dashed lines
- An arrow pointing into the past
- A trail to be followed
The Price of Good Fortune
- The web shivers with dancing strands
- The butterfly struggles and launches free
- Wings sparkling in the sun
- Heavy with the golden prize
- The bird waits, poised
Ship of Gold
- The river runs clean and silver
- The golden ship drifts like a leaf
- The reflection of the ship shines as brightly
- But cannot be touched
Fire and Ice
- Ice which does not melt, but burns
A touch of Winter at the heart of Summer
(this line has a shadow underneath it)- The truth is in the shadow, the action in the light
Whispered Secrets
- A mask is always beautiful
- Smiles with perfect grace
- But shows nothing
- Beneath the mask lies the skin
- Beneath the skin lies the truth
- Beneath the truth
- Lies the secret
Bureaucracy for Beginners
- trouble in the foxruns,
- from both near and afar,
- far
- beyond the watered gate
- blankets covering truth
- or lies soon to be,
- the map reckons secrets,
- and lets the Hunter see.
- near
- royal spire, and golden reach,
- the Marked hand is arrived,
- seeking pawns of one who flits
- to save the lord survived.
- freedom in water, safety in the rain,
- when ink runs down the page,
- the Hunter's sight will strain,
- and the Marked will flee the stage.
Unwelcome Invitation
- A seed sown in the north grows to bear a bitter fruit
- A seed planted by my hand in its shade grows as well
- Corruption seeks to destroy even those not its enemy
- But makes enemies of those it does not destroy
Monarch Butterfly
- Body
- Ravaged by venom,
- Salvaged by love.
- Far travelled, long sought,
- First key is the draught.
- Mind
- Inquisitive and cunning,
- though assaulted by all,
- Memory's salvation
- needs those cross'd the wall.
- Soul
- Peerless connection
- twixt body and mind.
- Off on a journey,
- Its plans to unwind.
- Recover the heart of the
- Butterfly's pawn,
- though spirit and demon
- will fight till the dawn.
Book Two
Death Blossom
Origami: a paper flower folded from paper with skeletons drawn upon it.
On the River
A paper chain with raindrops painted on one side, water on the other.
Serpent's Egg
A little puzzle out of folded colored paper - an egg with a serpent patterned in maze-like colors, wrapped around it, and a little heart. The puzzle is how to get the heart into the egg.
Travelling with the Butterfly Prince: Part II
- Hide Outside
- Tong Throng
- Other Brother
- Fated Hated
- Girl Whirl
- Sleight Fight
Phoenix Hearth
- Other people have made prophetic art for him
- a clay figure of a woman riding a horse, a phoenix painted in
orange, a tiny watercolor of a cherry blossom drifting in mist, a folded paper flower (each petal a different color), a tiny sitar player carved in ivory, and a wooden netsuke of an octopus.
A River Befouled
- Redemption blooms as an opening flower
- But bears a single seed alone
(the second half of the poem is torn away)
Compass Rose
Fox in Socks
The Eighth Name
Lifedeath
- Lahjen na murkkya hautuak kanssa on totta.
- Ampanen on viholln, mutta ala lo pesa
- Jakaa kumalen khydistyi.
- Translation
- A face that has not known joy can only grimace, not smile.
- Even if the wasp is your enemy, do not strike the nest.
- The split lifedeath united.
Book Three
Whale Hunt
A watercolor landscape of a seaside. There is a fuzzy, smeary town pictured, with three large docks sticking into the water, and a fuzzy picture of a grey boat docked at one of them.
Opening Cages
The Real Inspector Fu
- The pellet with the poison
- In the vessel with the pestle
- For the chalice from the palace
- With the brew that is true
- So the potion of emotion
- Aims a sting at the king
- While to spill out the pill
- Turns suspense to offense.
Ancestor Spirit
- An Offer could be an Opportunity, or make an Enemy
- An enemy could be an opportunity, with an offer
- An enemy's opportunity opportunes enemies in the offing
Over the Mountains and Through the Woods
- Might is important, but balance is key.
- A wall in the wilderness tells you there is something behind it.
- Metal carries water, but water rusts metal.
- The journey of a thousand li begins with a single step, if you can but take it.
- It is easier to fool a good man with a bad reason than a bad man with a good reason.
- To spurn a fair fight suggests you wish to cheat
- Watch your step before you become lost, rather than after
Three Ring Yoshi
- The hunter may admire the prey;
- the man who would buy the pelt
- sees only the color, not the life.
- The man who sees a paragon
- in one mirror
- will break another mirror
- who shows him a fool
- Every boy counts it a victory
- to stand in the shoes
- of his older brother
- and not fall
Children of the Bamboo
- She who owned it knew it not
- She who wished it owned it not
- She who owned it wished it not
- He who found it sought it not
- He who needs it has it not
- He who has it needs it needed
- It was what it is not
- It is not what it may be