Other Side River

Free Verse
Contemporary Japanese Women's Poetry, Volume 2

by Leza Lowitz  and Miyuki Aoyama
 
 

The work of 36 modern Japanese women poets, writing in an "imported" Western verse form and astonishing us with their diverse viewpoints, rhythms, themes, and insights. A companion to A Long Rainy Season: Haiku and Tanka.

Poetry from Other Side River:

Apple

And so,
this morning i put an apple
on my palm

its weight was very erotic
and shot straight down to the tip of my toes
it's no wonder that the center of the earth 
is being pulled toward me, inch by inch
on this heavy and powerful morning

through the slightly open window
freshly squeezed houses come spilling in by rows
somewhere i hear ten transparent fingers
flipping through the pages of a new dictionary
daringly, physically
wanting to know what i'm feeling
makes me feel fresh
on this kind of morning
when an apple on my palm
becomes an extension of me

it weighs as much as the feelings
i've lost

i won't see him anymore
and so
this morning i put an apple
on my palm.
 

-- Masayo Koike