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Age, Memory, Love, and Death
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19666 |
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Section : |
THE ARTS
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| Issue
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9 / 1991 |
1,082 Words |
| Author
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Graeme Wilson
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Stranger
When I walk past my looking-glass
It looks to me as though
Someone down in its shining depths
Were shuffling to and fro.
Who can that quaint old codger be?
Someone I should know?
Kakinomoto no Homomaro (c. 681-729)
Winter Waiting
Is he here, is he back? I asked them:
No-one seemed to know.
I ran outside to look for him
As fast as I could go,
Into an empty courtyard
And the sibilance of snow.
Anonymous (eighth century)
Sword
I dreamt, and in my dream
Quite clearly I could see
Laid at my side a long straight sword.
What could its meaning be?
Could such a dream perhaps foretell
You'll be visiting me?
Lady Kasa (? - 733)
Red Star Lily
In the shadows of a thicket
On this summer-wasted land,
Their startling flowers unremarked,
The red-star lilies stand.
To burn with love, and yet to be
Not even noticed. Agony.
Lady Otomo no Sakanoue (699 - c. 781)
Disavowal
Because I had no answer
For the other people here,
People who were bound to ask
"And who was that, my dear?"
Through tears I told your messenger
That he's got the wrong
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