After
a Haiku
by Otomo no Sakanoe no Iratsumi
My love hurts me because you cannot know it.
Love like a caged creature, waste matting its fur.
Love like glass lodged in my throat.
Love like a child reaching for a knife.
Love as distant as the cloud-shrouded moon.
My love hurts me because
I am exposing it, Roman-style,
for wolves to tear the flesh
and vultures to peck the bones.
You cannot know my love.
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