Japanese

something about you I realize

Japanese, Japanese

not your hair or your cheekbones or your blue eyes

none of these, Japanese

but some kind of stillness at the core

a mask that tells a story but hides much more

Japanese

the way you fold our bodies together

origami

light as paper or a feather

floating from me

now we are two white cranes

in an ink-black sky

embracing in silence

as they fly

Japanese

your little house floats in the island mist

self-contained, serene

time opens like a fan with a flick of your wrist

there we are in the painted scene

have we not been here forever

taking tea in the garden green

tea in the garden green

you speak in haiku

when you speak at all

Japanese

spare with the words

careful how they fall

Japanese

crimson lily caught

in a porcelain bowl

the tiger of passion

in the net of control

and even though we are only starting

I can see now how will be the parting

smiling and bowing, no tears please

Japanese