My Two Poems in Ishmael Reed’s KONCH
My two poems are published in Ishmael Reed’s KONCH online magazine Winter 2024 issue.
What a thrill. And what company I keep.
My Two Poems in Ishmael Reed’s KONCH
My two poems are published in Ishmael Reed’s KONCH online magazine Winter 2024 issue.
What a thrill. And what company I keep.
FEARLESS AT 90 a poem by Yuri Kageyama
I am fearless at 90
Wrinkles deep as the Nile
Hair translucent spiderwebs
Varicose veins throbbing blood
A map of fate on a carcass of skin
I am fearless at 90
I rap poetry with my dentures
Jazz dance with my wobbly knees
I rock like Jimi Hendrix
We Boomers invented Revolution
I am fearless at 90
I’m so close to the pearly gates
I’m on speaking terms with the angels
I’m so near-sighted I read minds
My fungus breath slays dragons
I am fearless at 90
My wheelchair zips Ferrari-style
My voice resonates five octaves low
My cane duplicates as a samurai sword
My hearing aid just blocks out noise
I am fearless at 90
I have no appointments to keep
No bosses to please
No dates to impress
No one can put me down
I am fearless at 90
I barely remember what’s up or down
Or who is where anymore;
Beyond gender, race, class,
Or even age
I am fearless at 90
My skin like washi paper
My fingers gnarled like a witch
I am neither man nor woman
White, black, brown or yellow.
I am just 90, and fearless:
Those days are long gone,
Not trusting anyone over 30,
I’ve given birth to a thousand children
And have a million grandchildren
I am fearless at 90
Although death is around the corner,
I’ve seen war and peace
Endured abuse to survive;
Don’t expect or need respect
I’m proud to be fearless at 90
^___<
Note from the poet:
I am not yet 90, but I feel this way and wrote this poem.
When I’m 90, I will write my real fearless at 90 poem.
My Poetry in Life and Legends
My poetry is in great company here in LIFE AND LEGENDS Twelfth Edition
July 15, 2022, Irvine, CA, USA. Thanks to the Editor-in-Chief: Kalpna Singh-Chitnis.
Haiku for Basho a poem by Yuri Kageyama
May 3, 2022
眼差しを
無に流すかな
芭蕉のかわ
He is still watching,
Though washed away to nothing-
Ness, Basho’s River
SHADOW a poem written for the Poetry Challenge May 1, 2022
By Yuri Kageyama
when young,
one thinks of what
one will become
or what one
wants to be
^___<
as years pass,
we realize
what we are seen as
doesn’t really
matter
^___<
what matters
is who we really are
how we live
what it is that we do
day by day
^___<
which is not
the same thing
at all
that is what counts
in the end
HAIKU a poem by Yuri Kageyama March 18, 2022
鶯や
水辺羽ばたく
都市開発
the nightingale
fluttering by the waters
urban development