Darling, draw closer -
In the honey-heavy air
We'll dream together.
Abandoned to perfection
Among the cherry trees.
Water torpid in the moonlight,
In perfect shades
Of blue and tenderness.
Jasmine gives us sanctuary
In this garden's stony snare.
Stay close to me
When snow's cold-powder touch
Turns leafy hands to bone.
See the ice among the trees
In our carved-crystal world.
Lead me to the place
Where cold light carves out history
On time's forgotten face.
Let us walk down to the stream
Where centuries melt noiselessly.
Frozen hands -
And we don't care
Which way they shift in spring.
Year after year,
We find ourselves enchanted.
Inky night and paper whisper trees -
Better suited
To the library.
We are two words
Cut out of flesh and memory.
Step through the torii -
The trees are cast in fire,
We cannot help but join them.
The lanterns in the branches
Cast short-lived light in autumn rain.
Hurry now -
The day's brief, hungry light
Is fading.
Shelter here a while.
In time, this stony storm may pass.
My darling, walk away from me.
The year's first frail blossom
Is our awakening.
You turn to walk the mountainside,
I'll turn to face the spring.
Weave jasmine close against your heart,
The world outside
Is deafening.
Perhaps next year will bring an end
To this sweet-scented suffering.
