光明寺/Komyo-Ji Temple
by Miho Kinnas
xxxxxThe dragon on the ceiling
xxxxxglares
xxxxxmy feet go cold
Visiting a temple in Japan begins by taking off shoes. My shoes always look shabbier when putting them back on.
The Year of the Dragon
is coming to an end.
My father’s given name is Dragon-Snake
for being conceived in the Year of the Dragon
and born in the sixth-month of the Snake.
Dragon head, Snake tail.
A bright beginning with a dull end.
Reprinted by the author’s and publisher’s permissions, “光明寺/Komyo-Ji Temple” appears in Today, Fish Only by Miho Kinnas (Math Paper Press, Singapore).
Photograph was taken in Shanghai by Fran Gubbey.
Born and raised in Japan, Miho Kinnas lives in Hilton Head Island on the South Carolina coast of the United States by way of an extended sojourn in Hong Kong and Shanghai. She holds MFA in poetry from City University of Hong Kong.
Filed under: Poetry Tagged: Featured Poem, Math Paper Press, Miho Kinnas
