Samurai Song
By Robert Pinsky
When I had no roof I made
Audacity my roof.
When I had no supper
My eyes dined.
When I had no eyes I listened.
When I had no ears I thought.
When I had no thought I waited.
When I had no father I made
Care my father.
When I had no mother I embraced order.
When I had no friend I made
Quiet my friend. When I had no enemy
I opposed my body.
When I had no temple I made
My voice my temple. I have
no priest, my tongue is my choir.
When I've had no means
Fortune is my means. When I have
Nothing, death will be my fortune.
Need is my tactic, detachment
Is my strategy. When I had
No lover I courted my sleep.
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