Pic 28: 横浜 - Yokohama

Pot on Head

saw her again

the woman with the pot on her head

no doubt it was a pot: had two handles

and clearly made of metal

saw her again

on her bicycle, grey hair splashed over shoulders

the woman with the pot on her head

there must be some worth,

some latent hitherto undiscovered efficacy

like:

a metal detector, not for detecting metal

but easy to hear the first drops of rain

before anyone else

and no worry about getting out of shape

or finding a place to put it at home

on the stove will do

or just leave it on the floor somewhere

and perhaps she calls it a hat, not a pot

maybe she says pot when others say hat

like:

at the drop of a pot

hang on to your pot

I’ll eat my pot

keep it under your pot

throw your pot into the ring

talking through your pot

how she is treated, what is her life

I don’t know.

I wish her well, and

I take my pot off to her

Pic 27: 三鷹 - Mitaka, Tokyo

Pic 26: 有楽町 - Yurakucho, Tokyo

Pic 25: 高田馬場 - Takadanobaba, Tokyo

Pic 24: 五反田 - Gotanda, Tokyo

Undoing

We are pushed, pulled

cajoled, forced

do this, do that

fix this, arrange that

bring together, make stronger, combine, network

make better, solidify, incorporate, reinforce, dig in

follow the leader, be part of the team

Until it is believed it is all for the better

But our efforts, like so many makeshift sellotape tools

nails, screws, glue, sticky stuff

are redundant and wasted

since all is in place already, immutable and protected

by the vested interests, with smiles on their crooked lips

Let us reach for our mechanisms of disconnection

of reconstruction, starting anew, breaking the moulds

that result in only a single shape

Let us insert questions where there were once

full stops and exclamation marks

written with the indelible ink of expediency

Let us find those instruments to

undo the complex tangled fabrics of our ponderous existences

loosen the threads stitch by stitch

sweep past the cobwebs

blow away the dust

open the curtains

to see what should be seen

to hear what should be heard

to feel what should be felt

like a young bird flapping its wings for the first time

like a baby making its first step forward

Like a seed floating on the gentle breeze

Pic 23: 新宿 - Shinjuku, Tokyo

Pic 22: 代々木公園 - Yoyogi Park, Tokyo

Pic 21: 三鷹 - Mitaka, Tokyo

Pic 20: 北千住 - Kita-Senju, Tokyo