Mr. Takaya

 

I do not know
the sum of all feelings
that have already
been put in words.

Is what I write plagiarism
or is not?

I would never know
if Mr. Takaya,
living in Nogoya
centuries ago
had felt what I feel
and carved similar words
on a sacred stone.

From where I stand
I can only see
a sliver of the universe
and within my horizon
these words stand
unique and tall.

Plagiarism or not,
what really matters is
when words birth
they become joy
and an anchor
to hold my unsteady self
from drifting
in a shoreless sea.

In his own universe
Mr. Takaya may have
felt the same,
and even though
I would never know,
it is a decent bet.