III
Blindness:
Beneath the spring's first rays,
Underneath the cherry tree that saw
The finest hours of mid-life
Eclipsed by this morn's thunders
That shook the earth within,
The twelve obelisks that surround the barren tree
I must shield
Risk derided;
As they did the sputtering fool in the House.

II
Darkness:
Underneath that cherry tree that saw
Raindrops fall with deadly payload;
Only to sliver
Drip down the body
Peeling away the bloody bark;
Whispering in the blood that seeped into the earth;
Blood of a thousand conquests;
Seeping round and round …
… round and round
The lines:
Rings of bark.
As they did the face of the seditious Hindu:
The enemy of the sputtering fool in the House.

I
Wisdom:
Underneath the cherry tree that saw
The mourning waters traverse the lines;
Dance across the ages;
Deride degree of antiquity;
To wash away the sin of old age;
Restore the naiveté of youth;
Restore the vision of spring
Allowing the eyes to see once more;
The bones to feel the pain once dulled.
Screaming for the mind to relieve,
The eyes that the moon's incantations
Could heal for a time.
A Child:
Its head bent forward with the shame of lust;
Its one eye black with the sin of knowledge;
Its hand absent with the sin of greed.
As they did:
Death the destroyer of worlds;
The seditious Hindu;
The enemy of the sputtering fool in the House that moans;
I am the friend of death himself;
And I shall let him
The destroyer of worlds.

0
Innocence:
Under the cherry tree that sees
The sun proclaim boldly,
Reclaiming the blood fallen,
Wrapping around the branches of the leaves,
Kissing the New Bark;
More powerful than any spell
Whispered under the clock-struck darkness;
Dissipating under the cover of light.
You have seen eyes,
They peer out of blinds?
I have seen eyes that peer in the desert;
More innocent than that child on the quay.
Away from the blood;
Liberated from the key;
The key of memory …