POEM
I love your poetry he said
and poured his soul
into my teacup
I was as usual
afire with thirst
It was still winter
No end in sight
Being a geisha of words
an angel stunned in mid-flight
I fell to earth
lured into a tea house
He a samurai from Yedo
I a principal lady from Luzon
sat and palavered
It was great fun
Ah…but the past weighs
the future presses
The angel must away
her souls assist
infants awaiting birth
the desperate to solace
The warrior must battle
the dragon Grendel
spews fire and thunder
laying waste the fiefdom
I strummed my dainty samisen
we recited our poems
discussed ethics and mesmerism
Daybreak came
the tea ceremony ended
Excusing ourselves
with solemn courteousness
Our tea house
we departed.
