Touched by your glance back,
        returning home in evening snow


1.

She appeared in his doorway
like an enchanted fox
and not without resentment
said: “Mister,
your pursuit has caused me much suffering”

2.

A seed of light
A spotless room
A night undressed
Under the lamp, she unrolled and read
an unfinished
draft of his poems
At once she turned her head
and murmured:
“This ancient
rite
existed
even before
poetry”

3.

Aided by moonlight
she removed her head,
combing it in front of a mirror
Awakened from a dream
he saw her

“Why didn’t you scream?”
she asked blankly

“It’s your head,
not my head,”
he replied blankly

4.

With an enchanting smile,
she grabbed his head
and removed it,
embracing their pair of heads
with her hands

“You’re still smiling!”
Her head
looked more surprised
than his head

“I just really
like the way
my head
fits snugly in your hands”

5.

Back inside the dream
she exchanged
his head
with her head
and leaned her face against his,
teasing:
“Any complaints now,
Mister?”

“No”
Half asleep and half awake,
he replied
teasingly:

“My head’s still mine
and I’m gaining
your body!”

6.

As the sky dawned
she began to cry,
“Our time is over
but how can I leave you?”

“Just go,” he said,
“just go
as you are
Your half
will remain with me,
my half
will follow you
for eternity
to the ends of the earth”

7.

Stepping out of the wooden door
she turned her head with longing,
“Won’t this cause you suffering,
Mister?”

“How should I put it,
my love?
This was a long-buried
yearning
well before
that night
when the fox
violated the rules of heaven”

He turned his head heavily,
and step by step
returned to the dream