QUIET JAPANESE STREET AND EKPHRASTIC POETRY</center> <meta name="description" content="Poetry based on the photograph of a quiet street in Tokyo, Japan"> <meta name=keywords" content="Ekphrastic poetry, Ekphrastic poem, Japan, Tokyo"> </head> <body> <blockquote> <center><img src="Japan.jpg" alt="japan"> <h1>QUIET JAPANESE STREET</h1> <img src="in_japanese.jpg" alt="japan" <br> I walk this quiet street in Tokyo<br> seeing through round eyes<br> so very far from home<br> <br> The year 1957<br> the soldier but 21<br> so very far from home<br> <br> A stranger<br> in a strange but beautiful world<br> so very far from home <p> <hr width="15%"> <p> <font size="-1">Photo and verse by Robert W. Birch© - Cheap Kodak camera, no fancy lens. In 1957 developed and printed in Korea in army base darkroom. Manipulated 2009 in PhotoShop®.</font> <p> <hr width="35%"> <p> <h1>TOKYO FAMILY</H1> <H3>An <a href="#ekphrastic">Ekphrastic Poem</a></h3> Perched on the hill<br> overlooking a quiet Tokyo Street<br> a family eats fish and rice<br> with wooden chopsticks <br> from decorative pottery bowls<br> <p> An elegant garden<br> lies behind the wall <br> of heavy timbers<br> a log bridge arches over<br> a small shallow pond <p> Mother Haruku<br> often sits on a bench<br> watching the goldfish<br> shaded by the ginkgo trees<br> just inside the wall <p> Father Takumi<br> has founded a garment factory<br> making souvenir jackets<br> to sell the U.S. military<br> stationed in his country <p> Their son Naoto<br> attends the university in Kyoto<br> home for the weekend<br> he studies in the garden<br> and wonders about his future <p> A lone American soldier<br> walks the quiet street<br> unaware of the life beyond the wall<br> thinks only of his army discharge<br> and wonders about his future <p> <hr width="35%"> <p></center> <a name="ekphrastic">EKPHRASTIC POETRY</a>: Poetry based on a painting or photograph that reflects the thoughts and feelings of the poet studying the image and not the thoughts and feelings of the artist or photographer. <p> <hr width="35%"> <p> <center><img src="haiku_cover.jpg" alt="haiku"></center> Learn more about haiku and this small collection of haiku verse. For more information, <a href="mailto:birchbarks@aol.com"> email the author</a>. <p> <hr width="35%"> <p> <center> <img src="hour_glass_solarized.jpg" Alt="ekphractic poem"> <br> <h1>TIME</h1> <p> Time<br> the grains of sand<br> in an hourglass<br> trickle down on us<br> bending our backs<br> expanding our waists<br> fogging recent memories<br> <br> But my childhood<br> is as clear <br> as the hourglass glass<br> and my thoughts of you<br> will not be soon buried<br> for time<br> brings new desire <p> <hr width="15%"> <p> <font size="-1">Photo and verse by Robert W. Birch© - Solarized in PhotoShop®.</font> <p> <hr width="35%"> <p> <img src="mushroom_sketched.jpg" alt="ekphrasis"><br> <h1>NAME</h1> <p> A rose<br> by any other name<br> might just be<br> a mushroom<br> <br> Humble<br> it hides in the woods<br> stays close<br> to its place of birth<br> <br> No wedding bouquets <br> no prom corsages<br> no funeral wreaths<br> its beauty unappreciated <p> <hr width="15%"> <p> <font size="-1">Photo and verse by Robert W. Birch© - Lightly sketched in PhotoShop®.</font> <p> <hr width="35%"> <p> <img src="woodpecker_liquified.jpg" alt="ekphrasis"> <br> <h1>PILEATED WOODPECKER</h1> <p> Majestic bird<br> red crested head<br> the inspiration<br> for cartoon character<br> Woody Woodpecker<br> <br> His ego undamaged <p> <hr width="15%"> <p> <font size="-1">Photo and verse by Robert W. Birch© - Liquified in PhotoShop®.</font> <p> <hr width="35%"> <p> <img src="sunflower_plastic_wrapped.jpg" alt="ekphrastic poem"> <br> <h1>WAITING</h1 <p> The goldfinches wait<br> admire the beauty of the sunflower<br> but their true hunger<br> is for the dry seeds<br> and beauty can be blurred<br> by an empty stomach <p> <hr width="15%"> <p> <font size="-1">Photo and verse by Robert W. Birch© - Plastic Wrapped in PhotoShop®.</font> <p> <hr width="35%"> <p> <div align="center"><b><a href="poetry_books.htm">Poetry Books</a> <a href="limericks_books.htm">Limerick Books</a> <br> <br> <a href="ahh2.html">Humor Books</a> <a href="story.htm">Limerick Stories</a> <br> <br> <a href="limericks.htm"><img src="tutorial.gif" alt="Bawdy limericks"><br> Limericks Tutorial and a Collection of Original Verse</a><br> </b><b> <br> </b></div> <b> </b> <div align="center"><b><a href="ballads.htm">Ballads</a> <a href="erotic_verse.htm">Erotic Poetry</a> <a href="BREAKING_UP.htm">Humorous Rhymes</a> <br> <br> </b> <div align="center"><b> <a href="vignette.htm">Erotic Vignettes</a> <a href="Love_notes.htm">Satu's Erotic Love Notes</a> </b><b><a href="erotica2.html">Erotic Novel</a> </b></div> <div align="left"><b> </b><small> </small> <div align="center"><b> </b></div> <small> </small></div> <br> </b> <div align="center"><b> <a href="erotic_music.htm">Erotic Music CDs</a> </b></div> <div align="left"><b> </b><small> </small> <div align="center"><b> </b></div> <small> </small></div> <big><small><b> <a href="associations.htm">Poetry Associations</a> <a href="poetry_conferences.htm">Poetry Conferences</a> <a href="links.htm"> Poetry Links<br> </a></b><br> </small> <b><a href="Sexuality_Books.htm"><small>All of Birch's Books</small><br> </a></b></big><br> <blockquote> <div align="left"> <img src="sm_quill.jpg" alt="Poems" width="72" height="64"> <a href="poem_list.htm"><b><big>A list of poems on this site</big></b></a><br> <div style="text-align: center;"> <br> <span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;"> <big>DEFINITELY ADULT </big></span> <br> </div> <br> <div style="text-align: center;"><a href="wild_side.htm"><b><big>Swinging on the Wild Side</big></b></a><br> </div> </div> </blockquote> <a href="erotic_story.htm"><b><big>A Short Erotic Story</big></b></a> <p> </p> <hr width="75%" size="2"> <div align="left"> <div align="center"> <p> <center><a href="yellow_silk.htm"><b>Back Issues - YELLOW SILK: Journal of Erotic Arts</b></a></center> <p> <p> <b>You can order by e-mail and pay through your PayPal Account. <a href="mailto:birchbarks@aol.com">E-Mail Bob Birch</a> and you will receive an e-mailed PayPal Invoice.</b> <p> <center><hr width="50%" size="4" align="center"> <p> <b><font size="+1">USE THIS SEARCH BOX TO SEARCH FOR TOPICS OF INTEREST, OR USE THE LINKS BELOW IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A PARTICULAR FORMAT OR STYLE. 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