Stone


Look close. Bluish yellow

        Shimmer off unshaped

                 Stone. Oilslick on cresting sea,


Hazard on jungle trail,

           Rainbow's frailty widens

                Ahead, brings forth bone dry 


Yellow remnants and tears

          And tatters, brings forth

                  Melancholy play, brings

Sadness, life, I hear

          The soul singing slow, pale

                  Glimmers of blue flowers.


Tinkling Japanese prints

          Of the destruction of Edo,

                   The turmoil of our cities,


The winter of our soul.

       With joy or sadness bone,

                    Speak to me of matters.


The grit in the throat of words,

          In my craw that must resist

                    Despite me, but then yield.