Thursday, August 6, 2009

Theme Thursday - Kiss

Obon


The element of surprise

on that ancient dirt path
heavy velvet night warm
with the scent of ginger and fried fish
and the sound of Japanese
wives washing up their dishes

It will be the kiss by which all others are judged


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Willow, 2009



photo from flickr
click HERE for more on Obon

78 comments:

  1. Oooo Willow. That was excellent.

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  2. Wow, I'm first!

    What a great flash of a poem, full of sight, sound and sensuality and within so small a space. Good, good.

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  3. Damn. I waited a moment too long! Well, second's good too...

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  4. beautiful poetry, really. and I agree with dick, gets all your senses. And that he should shut up. LOL JUST KIDDING!! I don't even know dick, but I like him already...

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  5. Beautiful and sensuous poem, Willow.

    "The kiss by which all others will be judged"--

    I would both want and fear such a kiss.

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  6. wow. in a few brief lines i was right there...excellent.

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  7. I can hear cicadas. In the poem. I am on the path and I can hear them.

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  8. Echo the above - short poem, permanent impact. Really liked it.

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  9. hi willow, kisses - a space opens up in that little intimacy.
    such a space.
    it can be the whole world, (and you can feel it as it arrives) it can be the vaguest memory of softness (and it echoes for so long).
    i love that you have captured a kiss inside a moment unfolding. redolent with sound and taste and smell. complete.
    this is beautiful writing!!!
    thankyou.
    steven

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  10. Steven said it all didn't he?! Beautiful poem Willow!

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  11. was gonna ask what is 'obon'...now i know...excellant poem as always...wish i knew your inspiration!

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  12. Willow, that was really good. I mean it, excellent.

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  13. Very cool, Willow, and beautiful. All senses brought into play. (and btw, if people don't read the comments, just look at what they're missing! LOL)

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  14. That first kiss...hmmm....a wonderful memory!

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  15. Oh yes, our bloggy friend, Tulsa from The Art of Living in Japan recently went to Nagasaki to honor her late father-in-law.

    Great poem, Willow.

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  16. Betsy, although not a first kiss, a memorable one!

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  17. When all the senses are present
    that is one helluva party :)

    An affair to remember.

    Peace - Rene

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  18. Lovely summation of the senses!

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  19. What Steven said.

    Exactly like that.

    Only he said it a thousand times better than I could have.

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  20. AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    I hate cliche words like that. But I can think of no other on this tired night.

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  21. Every time I see Rx Bambi she is talking about dick, just an observation! LMAO! Bambs, you always leave me a good opening, that is why I love you! Great Poem!!!!!

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  22. Velvet, dangerous writing. Thinking about Johnny inspiring you? Mmm??? I would love to hear some time the inspiration for you writing this. In how it came to you. It sounds so perfect and complete. I wonder if that's how the process was? xx

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  23. Willow--I just heard a spot on our local radio station out of Davis, Calif. regarding a poetry contest. I will find out the info and email it to you because I certainly think that you would be a contender! I don't know if the cash prizes are very big but I do think that you get published. That's something!!

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  24. Thanks, Teri! I'll watch for it in my email. :^)

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  25. Willow, that was perfect. In a few short lines you transported me fully. I can feel the night on my skin!

    You have real talent.

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  26. It only takes a few lines to incorporate all our senses. Very good!

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  27. beautiful post all around - the poem is wonderful Willow :)

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  28. mmmmmmm......so sensuous.....

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  29. MMMMmmmmm...ginger and fried fish! Sniff...I can totally smell that.

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  30. Wow ! Willow, that is a GREAT poem,I loved it.The sucker punch at the end is deadly, truly, deadly! And genuine thanks for all your warm wishes when I was at my worst,I'm sure they helped :)

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  31. Hello Willow,

    Well, howdy doody! Simply great!

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  32. Just brilliant!

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  33. Thanks, everyone, for all your kind encouragement. It makes writing poetry so much fun!!!

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  34. such imagery...I'm waiting for that kiss!

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  35. Been to a couple of those festivals, myself. Nicely captured.

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  36. This is absolutely gorgeous. Thank you.

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  37. Willow ,what can I say but..excellent! And that's gotta be a judgement to reckon with ;)

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  38. Simply beautiful. Rich texture and imagery. You never fail us.

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  39. What an engaging, sensual work of art.

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  40. Wonderful! Willow strikes again. Well done. You ought to do a Blurb book and use some of your beautiful photos to illustrate it, Willow! Go for it. I'd buy one! Oh, incidentally--love the new banner. Great photo!

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  41. How do I get to be a kissing judge? I didn't see that in the career list at school. Nice one...

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  42. ooh la la !! lovely ...

    and LOVE the little turtle.

    I have a spider who's made her web by the spine of a book on my desk and I swear her tiny body is not half on a millimeter long - she's the most tiny spider that I've seen and I'm doing my best to not disturb her - from one spider lover to another

    and hey ! a recipe over at Black Street. xo S & les Gang

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  43. Beautiful read aloud, how poetry is meant to be read.... -Jayne

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  44. Beautiful. A breath of much needed fresh air.

    ~Jen

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  45. Love your new masthead--recognize that from earlier posts. Great poem too. You are very gifted here, even the name "Oban" conjures up so much.

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  46. Very interesting. Maybe you should expand on the theme in a future post. Pappy

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  47. beautiful and powerful poem, with serious WOW factor.

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  48. I like how the spare words evoke the time and place - & anticipation. I'm a spare word person myself - jealous I didn't write it!

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  49. When poetry is that latin quid!

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  50. short but sweet, just like a ....kiss :)

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  51. oh I love it Willow!Siomple yet so intense!:)

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  52. So incredibly atmospheric, Willow. Really nice work.

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  53. Really beautiful..so difficult to choose a few words that convey all those senses and emotions.
    Thanks for shaing.

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  54. Hmm willow - very deep that poem - must have been some kiss I think.

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  55. Weaver, it was one of those once-in-a-lifetime magical moments.

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  56. I love the setting, at Obon time, when magic happens, between this life and the other - and the first line is brilliant, like a samurai sword being wielded with care.
    Wonderful Willow :)

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  57. This was very good though I cannot remember Japanese doing dishes in 1953. I suspect they did but I just don't remember it. They only used one or two things and chopsticks. Workers used a tin box a little larger than a sardine can to pack boiled rice in. They ate with chopsticks. At hope soup was literally slurped out of the bowl, and profound belches were expected. Those bowls were smaller than our cereal bowls but deeper. I guess they washed them but I don't remember seeing them being washed.

    This post brought back a ton of memories.

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  58. Well, Abe, maybe it was just the sound of women cleaning up after dinner. Afterall, the kiss was a bit distracting. ;^)

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  59. Shaista, you're right! I didn't think of it that way, but very much the element of surprise, like a samurai sword. Brilliant observation. I like that.

    PS...I've had trouble logging in to leave a comment on your blog! Any suggestions?

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  60. Hi! Willow,
    What a very nice, mysterious? romantic? poem...as a matter of fact, I think the entire setting...

    (The flickering light set against your black template)

    ...that you have presented here is very..."beautiful"

    Once again!
    Thanks, for sharing...The link too!
    DeeDee ;-D

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  61. Ah, romance
    you have captured the elusive
    the sensual
    the slightly enigmatic
    and magic

    What a kiss!!

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  62. Wow very different take this week.

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  63. There are some kisses you just don't ever forget.

    Beautiful poem Willow.

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  64. Very beautiful!! I love this

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  65. Oh Willow, your beautiful words just danced across the screen with this post!
    Millie ^_^
    P.S. Interesting that you're thinking that the neck is a dead give-away at Manor Events. I caught a glimpse of the backs of my hands as I was driving today & nearly ran off the road. Some evil force has substituted mine with my Mother's overnight.

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  66. I think we all have one we judge by. What a lovely post :-)

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Inject a few raisins of conversation into the tasteless dough of existence.
― O. Henry (and me)