Genji and Murasaki (From Excerpts of The Tale of Genji)




Once upon a time in Medieval Japan,
was a man named Genji Monogatari
so beautiful, so shining, so radiant a prince,
had the beauty of a woman,
yet the charm, elegance, and etiquette of a man,
everyone loved him,
had many wives,
but only three who caught his eye,
his stepmother, Fujitsubo,
one wife of his, Lady Aoi,
and a little girl he loved the most, Murasaki

His love for Murasaki, romantic,
yet what some cultures consider sick and pedophilic,
intentions and desire for her good, yet bad,
wanted to care for her,
like any father would to his daughter,
yet, this father-daughter act is just a diversion
it's about love, and much, much, dirty perversion

Despite the age difference, he was smitten at first sight,
kidnapped her in the middle of the night,
groomed her to love him, trained her, raised her as his own,
took her as a wife,
at first, Murasaki showed a lot of complaining and strife,
after all, he married the little one without much consent from her,
and immediately consummated the marriage thereafter,
she had to deal with a lot from him,
a bad attitude, his self-righteousness,
his arrogance, the attention he gives to other women,
until one day, she gets possessed,
by an evil spirit, and dies a tragic death

Genji,
so shining, so radiant a prince,
yet so self-righteous, smug, and arrogant,
had many wives,
but was never happy, with any of them,
had many escapades and adventures,
considered a lover, father, emperor,
and a pervert by some,
his actions,
deeming him a mixed character,
being self-righteous, smug, and arrogant,
yet at the same time, humble, noble, and romantic,
One's at a loss for words when they talk of you, Genji

Murasaki,
at a tender age, so innocent,
had no childhood, had to grow up in a hurry,
had to speed up the transition,
from a little girl, to a woman,
 and become a bride to a man named Genji,
who had a pretty face and radiant beauty,
but the most monstrous attitude ever,
at least you're resting in peace now,
your suffering is over,
as an adult, you made history,
you wrote the first novel in the world,
one that's considered the pinnacle of Japanese literature,
you were a wonderful woman, Mrs. Shikibu,
too bad you had to suffer by the hands of that horrible Genji
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Submitted on July 03, 2014

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:59 min read
23

Quick analysis:

Scheme abcdaeFxghi iixbbdd jjxkkbbexdxx lcmFxxbxxbmil imbddlhbxbbxbgl
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 2,162
Words 395
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 11, 7, 12, 13, 15

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