Nightmare | Mao Chinen

In the center of the black night

when the bone-white skeleton

suddenly appeared

in front of me

with no thumbs

he whispered

“Hello.”

and with a smile

like a devil in my ear

he slowly walked through

where a little child alone

in the dark lay

on a dreary city sidewalk

and I heard something

big and green chase

the child like a gloomy huge spider

seeking to catch its prey and suck

the life out of it

Memories | Mao Chinen

One Sunday morning

we were in the cozy little park

under some big twists

and turns in the trees

we played on the swing

rocking back and

forth like a pendulum

repeated endlessly

the yellow sun shined

on us when we looked

to our right

we could see

the blue-green ocean

and the waves coming

and going out

across the hot white sand

when we felt the fregrance

of the salt breeze

we don’t think anything

Autumn 2016  |  Mao Chinen

under the shade

of a stand

of big brown trees

the ground beneath

turned to yellow gold

and sunlight

disappeared earlier

as the air grew cold

dead leaves in the stairway

a girl wearing

a red wool sweater

came softly

without a sound

and tried

to hold them