Sad little poems from Japan
(No. 2)

Seismic observer Fumio Futari
was so engrossed with Unzendake
he lived upon its lips.

Sadly, Futari himself has erupted.
On ascent of Unzen, we found him
on the crater's edge, reforming inside-out.
A long black feather
flowed from his mouth
and trickled down the slope.
"Remains of his intestines"
remarks Obscura-san.
As thin as a mineral slide,
he is sustained
utterly by his own vulcanism.

He emitted a complex belch at us
(his mouth a tongueless crater)
in a vain attempt to communicate
his faithful years of observation.

"Pyroclastic code"
Obscura-san informs.
"Which nobody knows but he."

Dennis List