Because I heard the cries of that bird
     Reluctantly I tasted the bitter sounds in my mouth

Because I saw the bird in the shade of the flowers
     The weeping cherry tree palpitates colors, speaks without end

Because I was surprised by the gestures of the bird
     The traces of that route begins to sway, too

Breathe in      And out
      (Having received the transparent, light blue letter)
With my breath      Cast a sidelong glance at things
      (In the letters penned in navy blue, even the angles of the will are round)
Hold my breath      Chew it down
      (The green of the chocolate candy and the purple of the shiso pickles and the red of the tea cup and)

And then      I hear the brakes on a bicycle
And then      without a blink      DAISY FLEABANE
And then
Spring spits out a few more flower petals called CHERRY BLOSSOM
And then
And then a day where the sun cuts through the cloudy skies
And then again      I trace the voice of the person I remember, to the bottom of my ears
And then
April

How far had I told the story
     The caged bird has disappeared
Where has it gone
     The snake remains
Is that what it means
     The snake’s belly was white and swollen
Ah, what shall I do, what shall I do
     The snake’s belly was white and swollen
You shouldn’t look at that
     The snake’s belly was white and swollen
That child doesn’t have a place to go
     The snake’s belly was white and swollen
That child
That was it
Like that, had nowhere to go

And then
April

Still      does the spring still spit out cherry blossoms
Still      does the bird still come to peck at the petals
Still      does the river water not grow lukewarm
Still      are you unable to forget
Still      are you unable to cry a flood of tears
Still      our mother’s mother’s mother’s mother’s, does this continue
And then
Shall I open the drawer and admit it
Because I tucked the snake away in the drawer
The drawer is implicated in the magic spells
The years of the drawer are still unsolvable

And then

How much
Had I spoken of it
And then, you see
Since that day, every time April comes around
It’s me      turned into two dirty legs
You’d think it’d be left in the cage
That      is an empty shell
Since that day      It’s me
That’s right
It was
A sparrow’s shroud
On the nape of my neck runs
A single thread of the river’s water
And I am unable to lift my heavy head

And then
April