[Mother I never knew] by Kobayashi Issa
“Mother I never knew, / everytime I see the ocean, / every time—” — Kobayashi Issa
The temple bell stops by Matsuo Basho
“but the sound keeps coming / out of the flowers.” — Matsuo Basho
Red Tulips, Then Asphodel by Brenda Shaughnessy
"What are emotions / anyway? Flowers die // not knowing." – Brenda Shaughnessy
Caged Birds by Taigu Ryokan
“Time and again / You, too, / Must long for / Your old nest” – Taigu Ryokan
Yes, I’m Truly A Dunce by Taigu Ryokan
“That’s my life, / and the world owes me nothing.” – Taigu Ryokan
Indigo by Kyoko Uchida
"And if the distance we've sewn together / is thin, what begins to give / has been there all along" – Kyoko Uchida
“Nothing in the cry…” by Matsuo Bashō
"Nothing in the cry / of cicadas suggests they / are about to die." – Matsuo Bashō
I’m Not Home, It’s Probably Better by Brenda Shaughnessy
"I am still me I am pitiless enough to have your number and call you with this excuse to let you know I am still alive" – Brenda Shaughnessy