Mizu – a poem by Tamiko Mackison

Mizu (Water)

I wrote the kanji of your name
In water on a paving stone in the garden

Each brushstroke a prayer to heal you
The sun stole the first letter before I finished

It was impossible to compose your name in full
Even when I raced through it

Life: one second within the stretches of time
A droplet that splashes, stains and fades

Ending almost as soon as it begins

Tamiko Mackison studied Latin and French at New College, Oxford. She is raising two young children. When there’s no pandemic, she’s hired as a wedding pianist from time to time.