Like a Certain Fox Boy & His Oni Girlfriend, But Different

In all his ways,
his kindness and his glamour show . .  .

So long ago,
broken and abandoned children -
he and I,
different, yet the same

Objects,
according to our admirers -

Living beings,
with souls, passions,
fears and fragilities

Error-making monsters who dare to hope for love.

I see you,
my only love,
I see you.

The scars that squirm benearth your skin,
the humans who coerced you
into deeds so foul no bath nor shower
will purify the stain
upon your soul.

"And I see you,
Treasured Goddess;
for we are the same.

The cigarette burns,
the cuts of blunt blades proliferate,
your face barely recalls how to execute a smile . . .

And I recall who made those scars.
I've made them pay.
No one harms my Divinity, my Empress.

NO ONE may touch the Queen of my world."

Nor may any treat you harshley,
Great Fox;
for you are my Delight.

Let me protect your tender heart.

"If you'll let me protect yours, Beloved."

Of course.

Children's Games

I waited, Sir.
I waited.

"But did you check the date?"

I did.
But I forgot which calendar you use.

Gregorian?
Magoma?
Chinese Lunisolar?
Vedic?

Is it the same as mine?

"They say the veil is thin this time of year."

They do.
THough they don't even perceive it
unless they've been told its possible
by folklore.
I guess that's normal, though.

For me,
there never is one.

The oni children play in the yard
while the night market goes on;
their father hustling with his noodle stand,
and their older siblings serving customers.
Little mischief makers
throw apples at my window
to see if I notice;

then giggling wildly
as they run away.

"They aren't about to eat you, my Love."

I know.
Nor are their parents.

It's the humans that terrify me.

The Victor's Homecoming

You stand above me,
just home from a bloody fight
(probably about a thousand years ago -
how DO you do that?);
sword hastily cleaned,
but needing it better done . . .

Wounds here, there,
and everywhere
dance across your stately form
scars and open cuts . . .
seeing this destroys me

Every.  Single.  Time.

You'd gone hunting evildoers -
those who now do what you have long outgrown;
which you've long repented of delighting in,
having learnt the horror of it yourself.

You bring the consequences of their choices
to their own doorstep,
where they can begin to learn the lessons
you did,
so many thousands of years ago.

"My Treasure,"
you ask, as I clean and disinfect the sores,
exhaustion wisping out the edges of your
battle-hollowed voice,
"Why do you weep?"

Oh, my own Beloved One!
You left to protect the unprotected,
who did not know their own power.
Your return to me finds you
bruised and bloodied!
How could I not weep, Delight?
How could I not be horrified!?!

"You should have seen the other guys."

Your wry half-smile lights the worlds,
a beacon to my pain-mired soul.

Ah well, let's get the bandages,
I say in my foolish selfishness.

"My body doesn't work that way.
I'll be fine in a few more moments,"
you tell me, as you stroke my hair,
bending close to the top of my head.

I know, I tell you,
looking up into your liquid yellow eyes,
but this is how I give shape
to my love for you,
Great Fox Who Walks the Star Roads.

Your eyes mostly close,
a sweet expression on your face,
possessive -
and you press your lips to
my third eye, with every reverence;
to the tip of my nose, with mild amusement;
to my lips, with a depth of passion unmatched.

You pull away to look down at me,

"I may well Walk the Stars, Delight,
and there are many who say of Me,
'this is my Spouse,'
for this or that considered reason.

But only you
did I form in a womb.

And only you . . .

only you
(in all these sacred pieces)
have been my one Life-Bond
for all eternity,
and many more besides.

Fear nothing,
for you hold my heart and spirit.
You see me for exactly who I am.
Which is more than I dare to hope.

Thank you.

For knowing I am not an object of worship,
but a being needing compassion,
needing truth,
needing to reminded he is only,
at core,
a humble being at play
in all the worlds.

Thank you."

And,
face uplifted,
stretching up on tiptoe,
as tall as I can make myself -
I offer you my kiss.

Worlds Swirl

worlds swirl around me
why,

i wonder,
why

do the kami-types show themselves
to me,
so readily?

do the Good Neighbors easily associate
with me,
threatening nothing;

being casual acquaintances
& friends?

why do these rarified beings appear
to respect me?
why?

my life,
if my studies were correct,
is unheard of
in fairylore.

unheard of in myth, too,
if I'm anything close to right.

time & space flow around my feet most days,
a refreshing stream with layers,
layers
above, below,
right here in the center
all varying depths, clarities, temperatures, speeds

voices of the past,
the future
the emphatic, ever present NOW
clamor in my sense perceptions

prayers murmured
across time

humans,
gods,
spirits,
animals,
plants
and the people of the stones
every being gloriously alive & present

one foot
under Grandfather Moon
placed deliberately on Earth

STEP STEP STEP HOP
TRACE THE SPIRAL
FOLLOW YOUR NOSE
CLARIFY THE GOAL
REFINE THE QUERY

STEP STEP STEP HOP
TRACE THE SACRED DIPPER
GO HOME TO WORLDS LIT BY ALKAID
WALTZ IN THE RECEPTION HALL OF THE GREAT KING
STEAL A KISS FROM THE ROYAL TUTOR
RUN DOWN THE ENDLESS MARBLED HALLS
STEAL A SHIP AS THE WORLD BURNS

Oh Love! My Love!  Did YOU do this?

STEP STEP STEP HOP
FIND THAT WORLD
MAINTAIN THE BALANCE
FEAR NOTHING
BE THE HELPER
                          ALWAYS

and there above the great dippers
shines the road home
seared into my soul
the song we danced, Oh Great Beloved

"Come, Sweetheart,"
my Beloved whispers,
"Come to Me!  Come home again!"

As he notes my steps gone awry,
"Not your LEFT foot!  THE OTHER LEFT!"

And my Papa smiles

Phoenix Wings

hope has wings,
i’ve heard it said. . .
and yet all i see

are phoenix wings

aflame with Life
fragrant peach blossoms loosed with each downbeat
heavy with the sweetness of the Sun

warmth lingers
where Rebirth passes
Compassion wakes

and over time, the world begins to heal

Matcha Mochi

I sit alone,
the window open,
scent of rotting lilac flowers wafting in
tracing its way along the creases
in my skin

Earth stands,
looking like Godzilla himself

Fire stands,
looking like Inari Okamisama’s honored kitsune

Water stands,
looking like a Lewis Moonsnail shell in a bowl of saltwater

Air flows,
touching everything, but looking like a fan with
Grandmother Fuji-sama watching from above floating cherry blossoms

Sustenance stands,
looking like green tea mochi: a single, verdant sphere

The year stands,
a golden bell that resembles the small dog-woman cuddled
in my lap and snoring

I sit here, looking like a human being,
the window open,
I am not alone

The Fae-Dark Road

Sunset has only just passed by;
I walk a fae-dark road,
evergreens verd’rous o’erhead –
to either side the spear-wall
of berry brambles, nettles, and climbing tea roses
all gone wild long and long ago.

Fading light casts long and deep
the shadow of the Forest Lord
His antlers unmistakable
in what feels like sharp relief

Sunset left long behind;
guides now long gone, too –
my feet and heart now lead the way;
the spear wall sings with small things
make conversation with their fellows –

all still as I pass by.

Heavy human feet,
dank human stench

– unmistakable –

in sharp contrast to the perfumes
of life & joy & all delights
drift honored lilac, treasured rose;
delicate jasmine, & sacred apple grove
whose love songs twine & dance upon the winds.

No torch accompanies my wand’rings;
alone in the greenwood with only tree frogs and the Shadow King
to sing this human child a guiding tune
the shadows pool ’round weary feet,

though Grandfather Moon shows not his face tonight.
Mother Gaia keeps her steady spin,
thrilling in the dance accompanying the music of the spheres.
Great Bear waltzes overhead along the shores of
the Great River Above.

Dizzy and alone
the human child falters,
or is she a Changeling going home?

“Lay, Beloved,
lay beneath twined Hawthorn & Apple trees, so near.
Come, I’ve made a pillow of moss for your lovely head,
Come rest, my Heart,
tucked secure within the sacred grove
protected by the spear wall . . .
Come rest within my heart, Beloved.
Come home, My Love,
come to Me.”

Twirling, foxfire –
will o’the wisps, I do not know
but Knowing Beings, They,
oh yes, they light the way
& yes the mossy pillow is;
& yes, the trees are twined;
I know capricious Fate may play at dice for my life this night;
even so, my soul, at peace, lays down.

I may die;
Or fade into the Other World;
Or live forever;
Or for only one moment more —
Or ever altered in nature or aspect;
it doesn’t matter –
for I lay at peace in my Beloved’s arms.

He is not of this world,
nor,
really,
am I.

Presence

He smiles jauntily as he crafts each ideogram.

“It’s ogham today.”

I see.

Entertained by the clickety- clacking of my keyboard
from across the room, yet his focus . . as always

Strong and pure.

Shocking red hair that swirls to ravenwing blue in just this light,
Oh Beloved, my heart sighs, as he wrinkles his nose in annoyance

“What? I’m right here.”

REDEMPTION: THE LONG ROAD

You were once a horror, Love.

I remember all too well
the violence you are capable of;

and looking at you now, Delight. . .

looking at you now!
your rage comes out when the weak are threatened;
your conquering mood strikes when oppressors step out
                                     – all boldness.

oh looking at you now!

you are so much stronger than you ever were before,
no more the friend of the demon king,
no more cruel one out to satisfy only himself. . .

What a change you have wrought in yourself, my Love!

So many millennia ago,
the world trembled at your name.
and now?

And now you make me miso soup with black mushrooms;
you say I must get stronger!

And now you fuss over the little dog;
play tug with her, help her chase the deer that come to visit. . .

If only every being would choose to grow into their own best selves,
in spite of their histories.

The sky would mend of its own, just then.

REMEMBER

Remember who you are, the card says. 
Remember you are love.
And I shake my head. 
It's all true. I know I am.

But how to live it when 'to love' 
is a synonym for sex in this world

And no matter how much right relation I throw at this world
I'm still inherently unacceptable.

REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE.

I am Balance, 
I am love, 
I am harmony, 
I am Right Relation.

I am the unstoppable wave of compassion in which
evil is able to become self aware; to grow, to change.

To embrace its best self and fear nothing but the act of fear.

Remember who you are, the little monster says.
It's smile infectious.

It knows you are love.

It knows your superpower is compassion.

REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE.
 

Be love.

Dream Date

In dreams we meet,
and sweetly you kiss my forehead.
The lands beyond the worlds
are safest for our date nights;

And even so -
there is so much work to do. . .
we cannot leave the planets
long to their own devices

Or so it seems. . .