Miyajima

To see the famous view, we rented a skiff
and rowed away from the Sacred Island of
steep ravines safeguarded by evergreens,
out to The Great Gateway with wing-like
crossbeams atop two tall pillars hewn
from the trunks of single trees painted
vermilion and placed adjacent to the
seashore’s “floating” Shinto Shrine that
now seemed to be rising upon its pilings
as the tide subsided, and here we let

our skiff drift in shallow water while
we ate big blue grapes from a paper bag,
also noticing a large deer crowned with
stumps of sawed-off antlers, wading our
way from a cove and presently placing
his head into the boat, brazenly tame,
receiving from us a few cordial pats —
­when suddenly that fat stag’s yellow
teeth started ripping our bag apart —
­so we fed him enough grapes to satisfy his
stubborn voracity and skiff-rocking
persistence until we finished the bunch,
whereupon our obstreperous guest quickly
nabbed the bag and turned shoreward -­-
still chewing on the remaining stems
and paper stained with grape juice.