Inside Poem by Amy Uyematsu

/ afloat

two boats with no riders
still moving on water
the hulls barely touching
each with a single oar
safely propped
so it won't fall

/ lotus leaves

close into themselves
at night

on their wide folded backs
water beads

inside, their sleeping
flowers

/ inside

do the carp
just below the water's stillness
see the pines

/ fall daikon

just pulled from the soil
these pungent roots
hang from bamboo poles
their white tubed bodies
bend as if slightly aroused

each ripe radish will
be drenched
in salt
then eaten raw
all winter

/ lone pine
ancient tree
with so many tongues
how long this throated stem
this stillness before rain