12 Poems Inspired by
Hokusai
1‑
Morning sun,
blocked by crows;
obscure vision.
2‑
Fuji,
snowcapped,
red sun sinking;
the sea on
fire.
3‑
Last Ronin
fight;
a warrior's head,
impaled by arrows.
4‑
The Great
Wave:
toiling seas
falling from
thickening sky.
5‑
Shadow warriors
fighting the passage
of day into night.
6‑
Hokusai,
the master,
laughs.
His studio
burns.
His rice bowl
empty.
7‑
Hokusai
in hell
draws perfect
circles
one inside
the other.
8‑
Hokusai
walks a swaying
rope bridge;
below a chasm,
birds of prey.
9‑
Water
falling,
a red
night
of terror.
10‑
Hokusai
sketches the whole
of the earth
emerging from sky.
11‑
Hiroshima
reduced
to grey matters
of atomic dust
12‑
A Self Portrait as an
Old Man
Deeply furrowed flesh,
facial lines,
eroding landscapes;
even dying, eyes
still laughing.
Alan Catlin has published dozens of chapbooks and full-length books. He latest published works include How Will the Heart Endure (about life and work of Diane Arbus( from Kelsay Books and listening to the Moonlight Sonata from Impspired (UK).
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