fireflies fill the night
burning the sand
she stands on
her toes aflame
the fire rising
to her heart
all aglow
then shooting out
igniting the sky
for all the world to see
the passion of fireflies
and she
passion
untitled poem by Yosano Akiko
Come at last to this point
I look back on my passion
And realize that I
Have been like a blind man
Who is unafraid of the dark.
translated by Kenneth Rexroth
from Jahan Malek Khatun: 3
Last night, my love, my life, you lay with me,
I grasped your pretty chin, I fondled it,
And then I bit, and bit, your sweet lips till
I woke. . .It was my fingertips I bit.
translated by Dick Davis
Leonard Durso 