Hokusai’s Return by Chris Nash Rowers bent over in labourand reaching for a nowherewhere you can / you cannotdrive further, drive throughoshiokuri bune frail prows,oars in rhyme with the rampagesof the terror’s watery surge you must / you must notdrown under this shunga wave,Prussian-blue hair in cascadeswhere silver fingers of lightinvite you higher into her crest,as she curls over to engulf you. Rowers in the ocean’s spit hollowshe carries you further, on beyond death,and you’re swallowed alive, as wholeas depths of the sea's salt breath. Notes:This poem is a response to crisis. In the 1820's Hokusai's personal life was engulfed in crisis. Yet at the same time he produced his iconic work 'Under the Great Wave off Kanagawa', including innovative use of the daring colour 'Prussian Blue' introduced from Europe. 'oshiokuri bune' is the Japanese name for the distinctive fishing boats in the picture. I think it expresses the frail balance between life and death we all find ourselves in now, and especially the precarious lives of working people.
