Mariko Kitakubo

April 8, 2024

“Hubris” by Mariko Kitakubo & Deborah P. KolodjiPosted by

Mariko Kitakubo & Deborah P. Kolodji

HUBRIS

through
the distorted
glass
he smiles to me
from the white limousine
 
 
blue green shimmers
a peacock struts
his stuff
 

—from Rattle #83, Spring 2024
Tribute to Collaboration

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Mariko Kitakubo & Deborah P. Kolodji: “We started writing ‘tan-ku’ sequences and sets during the pandemic when neither of us could travel. Mariko is a tanka poet and I am a haiku poet. We started having poetic conversations via Facebook Messenger where Mariko would write a tanka and I would respond with a haiku and vice versa, often at odd hours due to the time zone differences between Tokyo and Los Angeles. Some of these poems are only two verses, but others are six, and sometimes more. We were born the same year and have common experiences, but also cultural differences which has been a learning experience for both of us. We have found that sometimes our poems take unexpected turns.”

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May 21, 2015

“After Fukushima” by Mariko KitakuboPosted by

Mariko Kitakubo

AFTER FUKUSHIMA

Tanka Sequence

1

when
will my later years
start?—
a mother cat has babies
at the ruined village

 

2

dim light
of cherry blossoms—
unstoppable
petal storm in the ruins
beyond my five senses

 

3

sounds
of the stream
in my homeland—
Strontium is soaking
into the placenta

 

4

cherry avenue
my late mother’s favorite …
is there
another world?
petal drift

 

5

there were
days when I had
my dream …
are you there now?
Betelgeuse

 

Translated from the Japanese by the author and Kath Abela Wilson;
Oldflute Shakuhachi by Rick Wilson

—from Rattle #47, Spring 2015
Tribute to Japanese Forms

[download audio]

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Mariko Kitakubo: “While composing poems is the primary thing to do, I want to continue expressive activities by means of reading performances in and out of the country. I feel it meaningful to vibrate Japanese traditional rhythm sounds, consisting of units of five and seven syllables, in front of tanka lovers whose native language is not Japanese.” (website)

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