bakatachi’s alcove

He stepped forward to peer through the rocks. There he saw the most beautiful beings in the lake, laughing with musical voices. As he turned to have a better look at them playing and bathing in the water, his eyes caught sight of a single pine tree, full of luminous material hanging on it’s branches. It was of the most finest material, glowing within its own radiance, and he soon realised that they all were the robes of those wonderful maidens nearby.

He reached to take one, and soon, the maidens got out of the water, bodies completely bare, except for their hair that was of amber. One by one, the maidens took their respective robes that immediately melted into them, and took form of their second layer of skin, and they flew upwards into the sky, into heaven. All save one.

"Fair lady, what and who are you? For you and your sisters do not seem human to me," the man asked. The maiden in the water turned to answer, but her eyes widened as she saw that he held her robe. And she retaliated "Who are YOU? For you are holding the key for me to return to Heaven, there in your hands." The man hid it, forming up a plan in his mind while answering "I am Mikagi of the fishermen in this area. Pretty maiden, if you’d like your robe back, you must marry me."

Marry they did, and soon turned to love each other. The fair maiden, Ceres, bore him seven children, all out of love, and even rested upon her husband the powers of the Celestials. Mikagi, the husband, began to turn crazy over the powers, that he also was afraid to lose her, and so threw her robe into the ocean, preventing any chance of Ceres escaping back into Heaven. She killed him to stop his madness that she had unwittingly put upon him, but never found the robe, and died as a helpless mother…

(Written by Prince Otsu, 663-87, Japan)

While I stood waiting for my dear

     I was wetted with dew

Dripping down from the mountain trees

     Yes, wetted with dew

(Lady Ishikawa’s Answer to the Above Poem)

Would that I could become

     The dewdrops of the mountain tree

Which grew you so wet

     Waiting for me

(translated by Miyamori Asataro)

"Those bright eyes met mine. I knew at once two things about him: first, that he was afraid of nothing in heaven or on earth; second, that he loved to kill for the sake of killing. Now that he had seen me, there was no hope.

Three of them came after me. They were bigger than I was and could run faster, but I knew the ground, and darkness was falling. So was the rain, heavier now, making the steep tracks of the mountain slippery and treacherous. Two of the men kept calling out to me, telling me what they would take great pleasure in doing to me, swearing at me in words whose meaning I could only guess, but the third ran silently, and he was the one I was afraid of. The other two might turn back after a while, get back to their maize liquor or whatever foul brew the Tohan got drunk on, and claim to have lost me on the mountain, but this other one would never give up. He would pursue me forever until he had killed me."

Earth shakes

          rithannen i geven

Stone breaks

          thangen i harn

The forest is at your door

          na fennas i daur

The dark sleep is broken

          ðl dúr ristannen

The woods have awoken

          Eryn echuiannen

The trees have gone to war

          i ngelaidh dagrar

Roots rend, woods bend

          ristar thynd, cúa tawar

The Ents have answered the call

          Dambedir enyd i ganed

Through branches now the wind sings

          Si linna i waew trin ylf

Feel the power of living things

          Isto i dur chuiyl

The trees have gone to war

          i ngelaidh dagrar

Just as friend

There’s so many things I’d like to share with you

So many words

So many stories

Of the freedom of birds

Of the weirdness of cabbies

Only as a girl

There’s so much I want to confide in you

So much confusion

So much liveliness

Of  problems that were unmentioned

Of my joy and happiness

True as woman

There’s a lot I wish to ask you

A lot about Life

A lot about values

Of why sometimes we lack the drive

Of why one has conflicting views

What’s in being a woman, girl & friend?

What’s me if you’re not there?

This poem, for you it’s meant

And what follows is because I care

On the surface we’re just alike

As 16-year-olds would probably be

Happy we smile, angry we fight

but the truth beneath can be nasty

When all I say is "damn"

I mean to say "I’m sorry"

I’m not as funny as Hem

And I can’t rid you of your worries

Nevertheless I’d always be here

Should you think useless me can lend you a shoulder or a hand

Because in my thoughts you’ll always be dear

Just, and simply because, you’re my friend.