Open those eyes … the ones that were born in your own skull. —Hsu Yun
I sniffed the lily—
such perfume!—
too closely
and now I wear
its stain.
*
Jupiter and Venus
almost touch in the west—
O rising thrill
to see two objects so far
so near.
*
I took my heart
for a ski today—
one look
at that diamond field
and it let fall all its clothes.
*
It is no lovelier
the scent of the lily,
up close
or across
the room.
*
See these scars
on my heart, these new bruises,
it’s not that I have been
unlucky at love, it’s that
I love.
The Jupiter / Venus stanza is of course my favorite, and it’s not just the pun! So far / so near reads right too. I wondered about bringing the lily in again, but you play it for the closeness / distance so well there that it picks up that thread and weaves it nicely. Tanka you.
“See these scars
on my heart, these new bruises,
it’s not that I have been
unlucky at love, it’s that
I love.” (“…and now I wear/its stain.”)
Life writes itself on all of us.