Poem of the Day-Amy Uyematsu

From the National Poetry Foundation, as usual.

Amy Uyematsu was a math teacher prior to her retirement. She based this poem on photos of rural Japan.

Why I like it: once again, the visuals suck me in. Especially the image of the sleeping flower. The lotus has special significance in buddhism (and in hinduism.) And I can hear the sound the crispy daikon makes when it's eaten.

Inside

By Amy Uyematsu b. 1947 

                      based on photographs from Rural Japan:
                      Radiance of the Ordinary

/ afloat

two boats with no riders

still moving on water

the hulls barely touching

each with a single oar

safely propped

so it won’t fall

/ lotus leaves

close into themselves

at night

on their wide folded backs

water beads

inside, their sleeping

flowers

/ inside

do the carp

just below the water’s stillness

see the pines

/ fall daikon

just pulled from the soil

these pungent roots

hang from bamboo poles

their white tubed bodies

bend as if slightly aroused

each ripe radish will

be drenched

in salt

then eaten raw

all winter

/ lone pine

ancient tree

with so many tongues

how long this throated stem

this stillness before rain