Sushi Dreams

by Mark Tulin

The yellow sun

shines through

the porthole

of a tiny sushi bar

where I eat a rainbow roll

and imagine

wooden boats,

off the coast of Yokohama

where salmon

is freshly caught

I am my country,

my herbs,

my baseball heroes,

and the temples

of Kyoto

My people are gracious,

humble Geishas

with trailing kimonos,

dance and sing

lighthearted songs

As I sip my tea,

I think of Issa,

the Japanese poet

from Kashiwabara

who wrote lovely tea haiku

and I can see his words,

the snowflakes

blooming from the sky,

falling from the mountains

and landing on my tongue.

First published in White Enso #2, Summer 2021. See Mark Tulin’s Crow on the Wire blog.