busytsukumogami
we're celebrating
the centennial year of
making landfall here
all our relatives
have become ancestors now --
there is no one left
all those who recalled
what it was to live on Earth
have since passed away
but they left us things
to remember their home by:
tsukumogami (1)
this is the year when
the relics will come alive
and start to whisper:
karakasa-san, (2)
tell us the taste of the rain
upon Mt. Fuji
geta-san, what was (3)
it like to hold kimono
hems above the Earth?
chawan-san, recall (4)
the color of the tea leaves
in Shizuoka
Old Man Entropy
has two beautiful daughters
who follow his path
Wabiko is the
Simple Girl who shows to us
humble rustic charms
Sabiko is the
Aging Girl who embodies
time's lovely changes
we brought them with us
from Earth: Old Man Entropy
and his two daughters
we found them here, too,
already waiting for us
when the ships touched down
tsukumogami,
remember us when we too
become ancestors
our lives are petals
on the summer wind of time,
lovely and fleeting
* * *
1) tsukumogami -- objects a hundred plus years old that have become sentient
2) karakasa -- traditional oil-paper umbrella (as opposed to 'bat-winged' Western umbrellas). The suffix -san is a Japanese honorific, roughly equivalent to "Sir" or "Mrs." etc.
3) geta -- traditional wooden clogs worn with kimono to keep the delicate hem above the ground
4) chawan -- a tea bowl used in the traditional tea ceremony, prized for imperfections in its glaze
October 15 2012, 12:15:53 UTC 8 years ago
Thank you!
October 15 2012, 23:39:10 UTC 8 years ago