Ode To Murasaki Shikibu

Ode to Milady:
Compelled I am by your shade.
To write about you.
Murasaki Shikibu.
About your “Tale of Genji.”

Your “Tale of Genji.”
Prosaic — with much beauty.
Compelling the lines.
Lyrically waka style.
The plot intriguingly made.

Your style, your art craft.
Of eleventh century.
Is strikingly rich.
Depicting life and manners.
Of Japanese courtiers.

While there are several.
Genji is protagonist.
He is leading star.
His dalliances many.
His appetite no limits.

How banal is it.
That he should fall, and yet rise.
Again and again.
Certainly a masterpiece.
And with brilliance driven!

Written as novel.
This masterpiece is novel.
A tale of intrigue.
A psychological tale.
It holds its readers breathless.

Tale of Emperors.
And a tale of Empresses.
Tale of courtiers.
An old tale that remains fresh.
That’s sustained with mysteries.

“The Tale of Genji.”
Its ending, too, is mystery.
How Fate intervenes.
But this is a Buddhist tale.
And all actions are karmic.

Dear Murasaki.
I’ve tried to write a poem.
As an ode to you.
Composing it waka style.
The style you popularized.

With karmic message.
Your shade compelled me to write.
And so I’ve answered.
Delivering this poem.
And to put your shade to rest.