Poetics: Left in the Lurch

Written for Dora, the host for poetics at dVerse this week.

I stayed up yearning through the night.
giving prominence to your charms
the way your steps remind that you
are used to war and tangibles

Do not treat me lightly, I pleaded
the night you were late, when they exiled
you and threw us into a dreamscape
now the timorous morning glory

that never blooms conspicuously
will provide a reminder of the
disparate chimera that is love.

The origami that is that road
I'll fold and burn it, I need you back.

© selma

Pub closing time is 3 PM (EST) on Thursday. Phew, nine hours from now;
I’ll be nursing my cold and sleeping away my headache. Thanks, dearly.


“O for a heavenly fire!
I would reel in
The distant road you travel,
Fold it up,
And burn it to ashes.”

~ The Daughter of Sano Otogami wrote one of the most famous
love poems in the Man’yōshū.

She was a female official who served in the Bureau of Rites, whose
precincts were forbidden to men. She had a secret affair with a
minister named Nakatomi Yakamori. Their affair was discovered
and he was sent into exile as punishment. 

Photos from pages of the Man’yōshū, borrowed from the library.
Photos by selma.

Selma Martin
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This Post Has 36 Comments

  1. kim881

    What a delightful poem, Selma, and such a poignant story behind it! These lines are so expressive and put it in context:
    ‘the way your steps remind that you
    are used to war and tangibles’
    and
    ‘The origami that is that road
    I’ll fold and burn it, I need you back.’

    1. Selma Martin

      Thanks for your gracious comment dear Kim. Glad you enjoyed it and the back story. Xo

  2. Sadje

    Beautifully written Selma. Love your closing lines.

  3. VJ

    Wow! Well done

    1. Selma Martin

      Thanks so very much for reading VJ. I appreciate you.

      1. VJ

        My pleasure, Selma

    1. Selma Martin

      Nothing gives me more pleasure Annette. Thanks for being here. Xo

  4. Anonymous

    What a feast of poetry, history, biography, this post is, Selma!! For a while I just soaked in it, seeing in my mind’s petunias, burning origami, hearing soldiers in the night, an exiled love, and especially this line that to me brings into clear focus the pain of longing, a concrete expression of how a lover remembers those things that others pass over:
    “the way your steps remind that you
    are used to war and tangibles” — So real, so good.

    1. dorahak

      Anonymous is me, Dora — Don’t even ask me why WP failed to log me in. It’s giving me fits these days!

      1. Selma Martin

        And so you are! Thanks for clarifying dear Dora. You rock

    2. Selma Martin

      Thanks for appreciating dearest Dora. Wink. Yes, WP gets iffy sometimes. Thanks for the prompt.

  5. byngnigel

    I loved the history lesson, Selma. Always fascinated by the past. Your piece was delightful. 💜🙏

  6. memadtwo

    Feel better Selma. I like that origami image. (K)

  7. Ju-Lyn

    I am haunted by your final stanza – origami will never be the same

    1. Selma Martin

      😉 sorry about that. 🦢 🔥 The Man’Yoshu is an amazing old book.

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