I saw you first at Daitoku-sen,
Lost in the stream, an unstemmed petal
Tossed between the currents of the afternoon.
You waved - before I could say a word!
Since yesterday I have been here at Mishima.
The wind blows across my face.
The rain is due to fall.
I will always remember you,
The way you were, last summer,
At Nagasu-ji.
Ezra Pound's 1913 imagist poem, 'In a Station of the Metro', had a profound influence on many poets' works, and has been an influence on mine from my first reading.
ReplyDeleteShort link - http://bit.ly/s4nagasu
I could read your poem Nagasu-ji over and over and over. It is so evocative and so exquisite. Thank you for the gift of it.
ReplyDeleteAn amazing and beautiful flowering, Samuel. xj
ReplyDeleteYes that poem affected me too. I began studying and writing haiku as a result of reading it. Haiku changed my approach to poetry. I think I would have always become an imagist, but that path cemented my poetry in that vein. Thanks, Sam.
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