city full of lotus eaters
sleeping in peaceful apathy;
a life with no reality

dancing in the wind
with a slowly fading mind
drowning in the bliss

sunlight beating down
creating dark shadows on the ground
they move all around

city full of silence
whispers unheard in the distance
surviving by ignorance

they eat their lotus flowers
drifting hour by hour
nothing but a blank stare
is anything even there

---

in
the
crystal
water bubbles
reflecting there are
golden koi

in
the
mossy
depth of feathers
ancient moonlight
is the buoy

around the
blue-grey stone's
alignment
sand is raked
in perfect poise

every
leaf
has its
assignment
crickets make
a creaking noise

---

there
within the
island garden
small and jewel-like
in the grove

amidst
kimono and the obi
there's a peace
the Nippon know

muted colors
placid faces
the paper lanterns
sway and glow

the lords and ladies
sit for hours
where
the
lotus
flowers
grow

I know one day she will say "I knew a poet"
I knew a poet once who had an abstract imagination
Who told stories in jingled verses
Who built empires with his paper and pen
Again and again spilling the beans right in the streams of my emotions
A poet who stood shy in his own corner with a couple of unattended emotions
In his bag
Dressed in baggy sags torn pieces of the world
He had tales even his pen wouldn't tell



I know one day he will say "I knew a poet"
I knew a poet who moved mountains for a girl
But never was his efforts appreciated
Who never took life seriously
Found humor in heartbreaks and bleeding souls
Who was mad dead in the expressions of the edges of the world
You knew well how he fished spirits in the deep oceans of life
Sliding his pen lazily on his paper and making a thought
A poet who let his pains disguise in his convincing smile
Breathing life into tired thoughts
But still he had tales his pen wouldn't dare tell
For his pen feared what he would tell
And never got the ink to.................