Apricot Wood
I built a frame of apricot
wood. This was for you. The clouds float
through it even as I sleep. You wrote
once of wild herbs gathered and brought
to a lovely girl, an offering not
of passion but of some remote
desire to hear a word from the throat
of the Lord Within Clouds. I thought
of this as I chiseled the wood.
Last night it rained. I listened to
it from my bed by the open
window, hoping that the clouds would
not leave. This morning two birds flew
by. It is raining again.
Originally penned in the 1980s, “Apricot Wood,” is included in my chapbook , If Your Matter Could Reform, and was featured on Autumn Sky Poetry Daily in March 2015.
O at the Edges 
amazing brother
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Thank you, Afzal.
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always a pleasure brother
Peace and Equality and Hope ✌✊👍
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I love how it ends.
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Thank you, Joanne!
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very nice poesy fro you. The rains make a noise and gives a graphic view of the weather available.
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Thank you!
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You are welcome. kindly read my poems and give your valuable comments.
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Very fine poetry
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Thanks very much.
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Very interesting theophany… as seeing divine beings in their true form is considered by many cultures to be destructive/terrifying to mankind, the idea of a more calming rain-vision of Fuujin/Raijin summed up as a singular “Lord Within Clouds” is really powerful. You are always hinting at such things, or at least inspiring such interpretations… thus your power as a poet.
Once again, you are an American Ningen Kokuhou!
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Thanks, Daniel. We should be cautious with gods.
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That should not be a problem. The biggest threat from the Japanese deities is that maybe Susano’o might violently frolic through our vegetable garden…
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But not like Godzilla.
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Gojira (Godzilla) has been both a friend or foe of humanity, depending on the movie. That is what has made the various plot lines so much fun.
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I recall watching Godzilla vs. King Kong as a child, but I can’t remember which was friend or foe.
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They were both neither. They were both used by humans and pitted against each other, so it was a lose/lose situation in that particular case. The original concept for the film was King Kong fighting a giant Frankenstein monster before it got changed to Kong vs Godzilla!!
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do I hear a bit of Richard Brautigan in this? 😉 (all the better)
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Interesting! I’d never have made that connection, but I like it.
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I hope one day someone sees a bit of Robert Okaji in something I did. 😉
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GPR, you have made my day!
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Bob, I could smell the title and continued to be transported from there. Love this.
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I must admit that I never made a frame like that, but I thought of it!
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