EILEEN R. TABIOS AT THE POETRY PARTY
This poem is in my book The In(ter)vention of the Hay(na)ku: Selected Tercets:1996-2019 (Marsh Hawk Press, 2019). The book came out this past December and, pre-Covid-19, we were scheduled to launch it in May at New York’s Poets House. Had I read this poem during the launch, perhaps I first would have played the sounds of nightingales, of which samples you can hear at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdlIbNrki5o
Eileen R. Tabios
NIGHTINGALE FLOORS
I’ve always felt
Beauty can
deter
death, even before
I discovered
nightingale
floors at Nijo-jo
Castle chirping
alarms
against Ninja assassins
solidifying the
shadows.
The nightingale does
not always
sing
as if perched
on branches
dripping
pink blossoms on
wet gray
gravel.
“For prosperity, let
all senses
see,”
this old woman
cackles with
glee.
Eileen R. Tabios’ books, including The In(ter)vention of the Hay(na)ku, are available through Small Press Distribution: https://www.spdbooks.org/Products/9780996991162/the-intervention-of-the-haynaku-selected-tercets-19962019.aspx as well as Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/books/the-in-ter-vention-of-the-hay-na-ku-selected-tercets-1996-2019/9780996991162 Review copies are available by request through https://marshhawkpress.org/contact/
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ERT: My new dog “Nova” who we are adopting this month
specifically because the Covid-19 lockdown gave my family a window to take on
and transition a new dog :)
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