Favorite Poems - Miyoko San

Miyoko San

Snare me the soul of a dragon-fly,
The jewelled heart of a dew-tipped spray,
    A star’s quick eye,
    Or the scarlet cry
Of a lonely wing on a dawn-lit bay.
  Then add the gleam of a golden fan,
  And I will paint you Miyoko San.

Find me the thought of a rose, at sight
Of her own pale face in a fawning stream,
    The polished night
    Of a crow’s slow flight,
And the long, sweet grace of a willow’s dream.
  Then add the droop of a golden fan,
  And I will paint you Miyoko San.

Lure me a lay from a sunbeam’s throat,
The chant of bees in a perfumed lair,
    Or a single note
    Gone mad to float
To its own sweet death in the upper air.
  Then add the click of a golden fan,
  And I have painted Miyoko San.

–Mary McNeil Fenollosa

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