Yoshiwara Lament
Golden peacocks Under blossoming cherry-trees. But on all the wide sea There is no boat.
Amy Lowell
Golden peacocks Under blossoming cherry-trees. But on all the wide sea There is no boat.
The speaker stands amid the luxury of Yoshiwara, the famous pleasure district, where golden peacocks and blossoming cherry trees create a scene of vivid, almost unreal beauty. But the final image undercuts it all: the sea stretches wide and empty, and there is no boat anywhere.
Read the full summary