Kyoto Sonnet
Today I shared my favourite haiku with him.
He listened, although poems aren't his thing.
It's the one where the poet hears a cuckoo
and longs for Kyoto, even though he's
standing in Kyoto at the time.
I spoke about the way, for me, the poem
perfectly articulates the existential ache
anyone who has a soul must recognise.
He said, for him, the poem perfectly encapsulates
the limitations of the haiku as a form
and, furthermore, he thought the poet sounded
like a con artist. He made me laugh.
He always does. I didn't try explaining
how much, especially then, I longed for him.
This poem was first published in The Frogmore Papers, spring 2021. Annie Fisher’s background is in primary education, initially as a teacher and later as an English adviser. Now semi-retired she writes poetry for both adults and children and sometimes works as a storyteller in schools. She has had two pamphlets published with HappenStance Press: Infinite in all Perfections (2016) and The Deal (2020). She is a member of Fire River Poets, Taunton. You can find them here: www.fireriverpoets.org.uk.