Sunday, April 23, 2017

From The Estate of Mrs. Banks



I bought a book of
Japanese haiku poetry
from The Goodwill for $2.00

Basho, Issa, Buson
with their gentle suggestions
of falling blossoms
bamboo shoots and dragonflies 
on pages of beautiful 
wood block paintings

could not compare 
to the inscription on the inside cover
written in wobbly grammar school cursive
that was more lovely than any poem offered
by the ancient masters:


     "To Mrs. Banks:
          I love poems, and I love you.
     Allaire Imhoff, 1998"


My joy at reading 
her heartfelt profession
quickly saddened when I realized
if they had taken more time 
when cleaning out 
Mrs. Banks' book shelf

they would have found 
this simple eulogy 
as testament 
to her teachings 
of love and poetry.


Ken Owen   Van Niddy Press   April 2017






1 comment:

  1. You are a true romantic Ken .... Love this so much !!

    ReplyDelete