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98
the Samurai weapons -- stirring and
Practical. By day he hunts and suns, by night
sleeps undisturbed,
His blanket, his roof, his local government
the starry universe.
xiv
a leopard lily
The other fl owers are long
fi nished, and mix
With the dead weeds and grasses
on the slopes, in the gullies,
Among the rocks. So for you,
leopard lily --
Tired as we are, late
in the long day --
We leave the trail, cross
through the charred brush
To see you: against
the black hillside
Sending your tall stem
straight up, your fi ve
Great bright fl owers tilted
at various angles
Way out from the stem
like bells swinging,
Not knowing -- or maybe knowing --
the festivities are over.