Poet, Performer, Dancer, Storyteller, Yogini
The turtle that swam to the shore,
takes me on his back,
to the bottom of the sea...
my father is there, my mother is there
they are young and in love
somersaulting in the waters
i join them in their play
our hands interlock
we form a circle
round and round we go
gulping in the liquid of life
in our new found forms
we resolve what we couldn't on earth
deep into
a fathomless bottom
heaven is discovered
A live performance with Joey Kamiya on sansen circa 2015?
Once upon a time
I was in a dancer's body
high kicks and splits
on the count of one two three
finger pointing to the moon
tell it like it is
rheumatoid sets in
with carbon steel hips
the cards fall this way
now deal
at the airport
my hip replacement
triggers alarms
so much attention
for all the wrong reasons
even in my dreams
flight is not easy
arms bet the air
heavy legs drag
until the silk veil lifts
women 70 +
should wear red
bright bold red
out of the cocoon
wings on a silk veil
20014, revised June 28, 2022
Once upon a time
I was in a dancer's body
high kicks and splits
on the count of one two three
finger pointing to the moon
tell it like it is
rheumatoid sets in
with carbon steel hips
the cards fall this way
now deal
at the airport
my hip replacement
triggers alarms
so much attention
for all the wrong reasons
even in my dreams
flight is not easy
arms bet the air
heavy legs drag
until the silk veil lifts
women 70 +
should wear red
bright bold red
out of the cocoon
wings on a silk veil
20014, revised June 28, 2022
I watch the incense rise.
Invitation to Peace early morning these days no T.V. no radio prone to quietness I meditate everyday the same way like sitting on a rabbit's foot I feel safe and lucky bound by our desires I watch the incense rise busy busy busy thoughts busy buzzing clear the space toss them out watch them fly before they fall catch moments Genie Nakano, June 25, 2020 revised July 17, 2022
These are tanka that come to me as I meditate. I have aligned them into a tanka series.
Recently, I was in a haiku/workshop/convention. One workshops was about including dreams in haiku. Since I have a 40 year journey of writing my dreams down I finally found something to do with them. I wrote dreams down searching for answers in my 20’s and 30’s. I gave up on answers but continued writing them down. Now I’ve started up again. Deciding to make them into haibun. Let’s see what happens…
balmy daze … another dream
hot summer day august 20018 something monumental is about to happen
purple scraps of paper, lights, artist materials are scattered throughout a huge loft
I am poor in my 30’s enjoying life but not
not fulfilled always searching for something more than what I have
Now in my 70’s in summer heat again I make rice honey muffins with blueberries and nuts inside, finish a string of poetry but still not satisfied i blame it on my ailing dog
i blame it on my husband sleeping next to me
leaving
by the back door
tomorrow’s dream
Apologies … may 19, 2021
looking out the morning –6 AM my dream is filled with apologies
tracking down the young man Alan 16 years younger than I, after he left me wanted me back– competed with Hideki and Hideki won–the year 1989.
the young man was a huge bully — as most men are because they are men …
my husband , Hideki had two strokes during covid–2020
so I will be a mother now, to bring out the father in my new born man
mother’s day
without a moon
i am the mom
flying dream…again June 19, 2021
In a huge hotel Las Vegas convention. I am teaching chair yoga to older frail white women 70 – 80 years. music playing i can’t stay put –i set down my phone/wallet on a side table. the walls turn into portable sliding walls –everyone moves to a different room. suddenly I fly my hair streaming in back people are amazed yet no one bothers me I can’t quite control where I’m going –difficult to navigate. I remember I left my phone/credit cards in the other room — maybe I should go back but it’s too difficult to navigate — oh well I ‘ ll keep flying I look young a vibrant ninja.
i can’t sit still
so I fly
viva las vegas
don’t know
where I’m going to
here I am
june 21, 2022, tuesday Don, my second husband--for the first time he looks unappealing kind of nerdy. as always he is having an affair with another woman--this time she is not the usual glamor girl but a nerd. I can't understand why he chose her. dream guy anchors into reality
June , 2022
Someone is trying to kill me. I am wearing a dress with sandals. I don’t want to hurt my feet. I’m running away down railroad tracks…
to be continued with a haiku?
at fifteen buying cigarettes hooked for half a century, from ashes phoenix rise
a ghost
from my childhood
still haunts me,
loneliness manifests
any time any place
genie nakano, june 30, 2022
my father
played piano
melodies
wandered
but he was steady
Dad
was to shy to dance
I
became a dancer
against all odds
time wears
down the cushions
a sitar drones
as pulse gets weaker
and feet can”t keep a beat
Dad
does this make you sad
as you recall
the earthly pains
before our final steps
ten years
after your death
you spoke
to me in a dream
I remember everything
your
warm tears
falling
from the sky
rinse away my fears
January 24, 2021
tanka for Dad
I walk the forest
where my father crawled
in snow-filled trenches —
can I be the man he was
without ever tasting war
after you died
we read your journals
stacks, files, hidden boxes full
of notes, poems, sketches of life–
Dad, you paved my way
Poems by Dad, I will post more soon.
THERE NEVER WAS A ROSE
I have given many Roses,
But they were only Roses.
Now I find,
When I try to give a Rose,
The flower is gone,
and all I give is love.
Tome Nakano, 1967
Spillwords.com presents: Spark of Life, a short story by Sharon Frame Gay, who has been published in literary magazines and anthologies…
Source: Spark of Life
Genie Nakano