1940, 1970 and Today – plus other poems - 12. Boys on the Tama

.

Poem No. 31

. . . On seeing a Satsuma Vase . . .

Tanka:

Filtering from there,

Heaven’s sun shines light down, while,

Under this spring day,

An unpeaceful heart follows

The blossoms’ bloom, ebb and fall.

Poem No. 32

Love is the only excuse

Worth excusing.

Poem No. 33 ^[11]

A Joke Tanka

Tanka:

Sleepy in my work,

Caked mucus falls from my lids

Down to the paper

Where a day of me was lost

To ink and love-less action.

Poem No. 34 ^[12]

Tanka:

Boys on the Tama,

Some in tank tops, some shirtless;

Wind-shaped clouds above,

And a rushing train with me

Somewhere lost in the middle.

-----------------------------------------------------

[11] “A Joke Tanka” The March 22, 1994 original of this poem contains the following explanatory note:

Not that I worked without love for my work, but that the day was spent on it and not in the company of the people I loved.

[12] “Boys on the Tama” The Tama River, which forms the southern border for the City of Tokyo, has a broad channel for when the river floods. Most times of the year, this area serves as wide-open parkland. Passing over the river on my daily train, I began to envy the freedom and camaraderie of the young men exercising down along the riverbanks.

_