Two Poems from Louis Faber
Tokyo Snapshots
In the small yard
of the matchbox house
the lone Ginkgo
twisted by time
feels the barrenness
of winter's tongue
and mourns
its solitude.
The apartment building looms up
over the tracks of the Narita Express
the balconies are deserted, save
for the laundry which flaps
in the morning breeze,
slapping with the gusts
into the small satellite dishes
bolted to the railings.
The ancient trees are twisted
and gnarled, clinging
to the small band of soil.
They lean as if to hear
some whispered word,
held in place by the braces
fashioned carefully,
their trunks wrapped in bark
tied neatly with twine,
to soothe against the chafe
of the hand lashed
support beams.
Tokyo Night Scenes
Scene 1
Just off Shinjuku chuo koen North,
nestled in the courtyard
of the Green Tower, hides
Jyoufuji Temple, serene
in the first light of morning,
the sun dancing off the ceremonial
bell its striker poised, as if
waiting to catch the wind
and to it sing its resonant song.
Inside, the prayer mats await
the first supplicants of the day
below the sandalwood alter
and above it all, behind
the gossamer curtain, sitting lotus
Buddha smiles at the oneness.
Scene 2
Garish neon blazes
its siren call, Lucky 7777,
Vegas Land, Anima Parlor,
countless others, and inside
the Pachinko machines
scream out their riotous
cacophony, drowning thought
as the balls dance in their maze
indifferent to the intent stares
of the player, and the smoke
which covers the room
with its acrid pall.
Scene 3
In Roppongi, night
brings rebirth, the neon
jungle is lustful, and
the animals stir in response.
They line up outside
of the clubs dancing
to unheard music
captured by the ghosts
that yield the day
with a struggle.
The music pours out
over the streets,
an atonal sedoka
written in the sand.
Louis Faber is a poet living in Florida. His work has appeared widely in the U.S., Europe and Asia, including in Glimpse, South Carolina Review, Rattle, Pearl, Dreich (Scotland), Alchemy Stone (U.K.), and Flora Fiction, Defenestration, Constellations, Bengaluru Review (India), Jimson Weed and Atlanta Review, and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize.
