Maiko

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Maiko



Among the satin blush petals of the cherry blossoms
like snow cover atop a lush sage grass
eclipsing a garden in Kyoto where foreign ivy
and a drove of prismatic blossoms
bring artistry to the dull blacks and grays of the city
she sits a dowager queen amongst the flowers
who are apprentice to her beauty

She is Geisha

Were I to compass her siren splendor
parody a taste of her lustrous allure
share but a little of her sway over the
Hanamachi, flower towns,
I could caress the concept of deathless fame
and know what it is to be more than just merchandise
to be a cardinal prize whom which men
outbid and outdo their brothers and comrades
to spend a night with the essence of dreams

But I know not the power she commands
with a slight exposure of her rarefied wrist
or the coy enticement of her flicker down eyes
as her dahlia lips part for a sigh
and she reveals the draw of the Geisha girl

I am only Maiko

I join the regiment of men who flock the Okiya
with gifts of Obi and Kimono
to hear her pluck but a note on the Shamisen
to hear her sing but a verse of Yuyake, Koyake
to hear her whisper but a word of praise

For if she were to praise me
imbue the ways of the Onna Geisha history
down upon me
I would rise to the vocation of discipline
and tedious tics of compulsive demands
of the culture of my foresisters before me
I would come to learn and make
the karyūkai, the flower and willow world,
my own world, my own home, my own dream
and one day I will sit among the fallen petals
stealing breaths from the men who lay their
eyes upon me and know they will meet no other
woman who will satisfy their company the way I do.
One day I will be where she is.

One day I will be Geisha

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Definitions and Explanations:

For information about Geisha, go here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geisha

Maiko- a apprentice Geisha

Onna Geisha - a woman Geisha. The Geisha used to be a mainly male society.

Kyoto - a popular city where Geisha can still be found today.

"Yuyake, Koyake" - a traditional Japanese song.

Okiya - Geisha Houses. Young girls are usually sold to these houses and trained to be Geisha here.

Hanamachi- "flower towns," districts where Geisha houses are present.

Karyūkai - the high-culture world of the Geisha.

Shamisen - a three string instrument that is typical of Geisha performances.

Obi - the sash worn around a Kimono.

Kimono - typical dress of Japanese culture.

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