Takanata's Poems
From Dragon
Contents |
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
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