Hathi Room

Today’s prompt asked us to “write a poem based on an image from a dream”. I tried to recollect my dreams all day, but came up dry so decided to write one inspired by my uncle’s day 4 poem (he posted before me) that describes marine life in space. This one tells the tale of antarctic animals in Tokyo.

In Shinjuku, a garden sin flowers
Without life it lies barren and concrete
Surrounded by snow capped steel-glass towers
With lavish neon lights for the elite
In the garden a stunt penguin dawdles
Across a byway riddled with fungi
Penniless and yearning to be coddled
He implores a koi that fails to reply
Nearby albatrosses hum hogaku
Quite heedless to the poor penguin’s peril
One pecks at her mate – coined Sensei Uchu
Who is saddened to know he is sterile
Darkness falls as Okami bestows sleet
While the penguin dreams of mates he may meet