By Naoshi Koriyama
you mix
the dough
of experience
with
the yeast
of inspiration
and knead it well
with love
and pound it
with all your might
and then
leave it
until
it puffs out big
with its own inner force
and then
knead it again
and
shape it
into a round form
and bake it
in the oven
of your heart
This poem is in the public domain.
About the poem: This poem was selected in recognition of National Poetry Month.
About the poet: Naoshi Koriyama was born in 1926 in Kikai Island, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. He attended the University of New Mexico, and then graduated from New York State College for Teachers in 1954, and returned to Japan to teach and write poetry. His interest in poetry came from using it as a tool to combat his feelings of depression when he transferred from New Mexico to New York. From 1967 to 1997, he was a professor at Toyo University, and holds the title of professor emeritus. He speaks Japanese, English, and his native Kikai — and has published poetry collections in both English and Japanese.