a mamaist visit

                           




Pardon me.
But a god just spoke to me.
Yes, me!
Can you hear me? he said.
Oh dear me, I said. 
You mean me?
Why me?                                               
Don't you know me? he said.
Who, me? I said. 
O woe is me! 
What do you want from me?
Do you read me? he said.
No, I said. Not me!
Take this cup from me!
Please, spare me!
Answer me! he said--
For if you don't know me by now,
You will never know me!
Truly I've got the devil in me, I thought.  
Then I looked again and saw
An angel smiling at me.
Trust me, he said. 
Then all of a sudden it hit me.
O poor me! I thought,
O lucky me! 
Please! I said, Take me with you,
Take me there!                                                                                            
No, he said, turning from me--
You must wait for me.  
And remember me. 
And show me 
Who you are, 
Who you are.

Botsford, Alan. mamaist: learning a new language. Kamakura, Japan, Minato No Hito, 2002.