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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


AFTER IKKYU: 24 by JAMES HARRISON

Poet Analysis

First Line: THE MONK IS EIGHTY-SEVEN. THERE'S NO FAT
Last Line: TREMBLE WHEN SHE GIVES HIM A TIN CUP OF WATER.
Subject(s): MONKS;

The monk is eighty-seven. There's no fat
left on his feet to defend against stones.
He forgot his hat, larger in recent years.
By a creek he sees a woman he saw fifty summers
before, somehow still a girl to him. Once again his hands
tremble when she gives him a tin cup of water.



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