Nine Ways of Looking at a Maple Tree: A Gogyohka Sequence

dewy morning
birds chirping
children playing
somewhere in maple leaves
sunlight breaks into pieces

intertwined
over the back alleys
maple leaves flash
in morning sun
autumn crimson

sitting
under the maple tree
I read the poetry
of leaves falling
into the book

maple tree
on the front yard
enjoys its solitude
I, too
sit by the window daily

maple tree
and I
gaze at each other
neither of us moves
or gets tired

withered
to a skeleton, the maple tree
stands firm
I see fragments of sky
between its bare limbs

maple tree
its bare arms
embrace Canadian winter
snowflakes on the face
of a Taiwanese immigrant

I have a mind
of winter to regard
the maple tree
on the lawn covered in snow
but no body of winter

bare maple branches
embrace the wintry sky
a Taiwanese
becomes the naturalized citizen
in a world of one color

July/August 2010 issue of Sketchbook