MONO NO AWARE
She looked as though she had just stepped
Out of a painting, sunlight fell in patches through
The trees, and shadows cast reflected bygone days
Out here in the mountains one returns to one’s
Former grace, a lightness of step, an elegant
Turn, she would turn to look, eyes met
Graceful movement and austere poise
Reflections of the former self, she looked
As though she lived out longing ways
Her shadow cast upon the hill, light could
Almost be seen, a glimmer in darkness, sun’s
Rays dancing off water, her form blending into
A spectacle of light, the eye unable to take in
All the shimmering beauty, one squints to see
But cannot make out the form of passion
Perfected in radiant bliss, waters wanting
Of nothing more than to shield her verdant nature
An on-looking eye could see that she had shed
Her past hardships, and entered into the fullness
Of bloom, the springtime of youth meant something
To her, if not to begin again, all heartache culminating
Into something surreal, she knew herself what had
Become of bygone days, her neck lifts in the light
Her skin white as a feather falling in air, and her
Voice, like a tiny bell ringing, how crystalline and pure
But something about the way she carried herself
Gave one pause to think, was this something she
Had learned in life, or developed by natural course
Loose strands fall into her eyes, and a hidden brightness
Shines beneath sorrowful eyelids, yet a darkness
Rising from below, somewhere surfaces, beneath
Shadows of trees, leaves shivering in the breeze
Enchant one’s eye, and if one had not known her
They would see only this: a white hand searching
Through layers, the shine of a blade catching light