Gentle Koyoshi,
scorned, cast out by family,
"You're no husband, you're no father," they yell
forcing upon him a life of solitude;
days of wandering,
finally takes refuge in a garden shack between two trees,
too proud to accept charity,
owner lets him stay in exchange for chores,
breakfast is part of the deal;
Koyoshi, ever in his own world,
joins us at table,
never talks much to his surrogate kin,
quietly sips his tea,
now and then lifts his head to smile, eyes twinkling,
gets up from the table without a word,
gently exhales
shuffles back to his shack
a man of quiet earth tones, a golden light within.
scorned, cast out by family,
"You're no husband, you're no father," they yell
forcing upon him a life of solitude;
days of wandering,
finally takes refuge in a garden shack between two trees,
too proud to accept charity,
owner lets him stay in exchange for chores,
breakfast is part of the deal;
Koyoshi, ever in his own world,
joins us at table,
never talks much to his surrogate kin,
quietly sips his tea,
now and then lifts his head to smile, eyes twinkling,
gets up from the table without a word,
gently exhales
shuffles back to his shack
a man of quiet earth tones, a golden light within.
(I'm such a sentimental fool.)
11 comments:
Hi Greensleeves,
I only work with what wonderful people like you give me.
Hello Dan,
No problem! I have days like that just about every day, and my reaction often isn't what I'd like it to be. Comes with the territory of being human. :)
What a great little story, thanks Michael :)
Hi Beachy, Matt,
Thanks! The other day, I read a post on my friend Greensleeves' blog (you can find out about her to your left; hers is the topmost comment). She was describing a childhood memory from Japan that truly moved me, and I wrote a little something about it, taking a little poetic license in the process. The photo I used to illustrate the post was taken by me in Kyoto about eight or nine years ago. I thought this was the perfect photo for my blog story of Koyoshi.
My dear Anu,
I can think of no better company than you with whom to be sentimentally foolish together. :)
I have been meaning to get back by here after Christmas and see how you are doing, and I just plain got busy. I am glad to see you're doing good, and I can relate to getting good news on counts!
You're not a sentimental fool, possibly a fool but not sentimental ;) haha
Mihcael,you really understand Japanease culture,I feel. Tottemo sutekina shi desu.Tottemo ii shi desu.Be proud of your gift,please.
Anu, Phats, g, Miki,
Thank you all so much! Phats, good to hear from you again. I was wondering where you were.
The photo I used for the Koyoshi post comes from my Web site of photos I took while living in Japan, www.sliceofjapan.com. He isn't Koyoshi; rather, he's a Taoist priest who lives at a very famous Shinto shrine, Fushimi Inari Taisha, near Kyoto. I thought the photo was a good match for my poem.
Ah, thank you, g! I'll try.
First time here. Your poetry and pictures come from a very deep personage... and one I will have to "view" more often. Thank you for allowing me into a piece of what is you.
Welcome, Phoenix, and thank you so much for stopping by and for leaving such kind words!
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