Read Poem: In Kyoto, by James Tichenor

In Kyoto, the hawks circle over Gion
Seeking no prey above the traveled streets
Where the crow unheeded passes cherry trees by.

The steps of Kodai-ji are emptied now,
And clouds close in on Higashiyama’s crests –
In Kyoto, the hawks circle over Gion.

Night rain heavy air drags at the cherry blooms
Flowing down the mountain side to the gate
Where the crow unheeded passes cherry trees by.

Heavy as headstones the stain-shot sky hangs
Over the fir-lined stone block steps up the hill –
In Kyoto, the hawks circle over Gion.

A breeze – squeaking the wet tree tops, waving
The black-ribbed cherry trees, grazes the roofs
Where the crow unheeded passes cherry trees by.

Now down the steps on sandaled feet, seeming
Asleep, a monk comes who does not see how
In Kyoto, the hawks circle over Gion
Where the crow unheeded passes cherry trees by.