Poem in Kyoto Journal

Kyoto Journal (No. 94) has published Andrew’s poem, “Dragonflies from the Bamboo Forest”.

Kyoto Journal is an award-winning English-language magazine founded in 1987 in Kyoto, Japan. It presents cultural and historical insights from all of Asia, with a major focus on Japan. It is published biannually.

The text of Andrew’s poem is reproduced below:

Dragonflies from the Bamboo Forest

They journeyed from Japan,
the bamboo dragonflies
buoyant by my bookcase.

Members of a squadron
of small fixed-wing flyers,
they zeroed in on me

as I walked with my wife
through an ancient forest
of tall timber bamboos.

And I quickly yielded
to the craftsman for them
my pocketful of yen.

Now they hover weightless
above papers and books,
upheld by just the tips

of their noses touching
the raised sticks of their stands,
the weight of their bodies

and long tails magically
offset by the weight of
their forward-thrusting wings.

They tremble dreamily
in the still air above
the tarmac of my desk,

tempting me to puff them
into storm even as
I marvel at their poise,

reminding me always
of the balance and grace
they own but I must chase.

            © Andrew Lansdown

A slightly altered version of this poem is included in Andrew’s new collection, Distillations of Different Lands (Sunline Press).