By Jared, on March 26th, 2010%
Keigo smiles,
Vibrant light
Like a brain-washed commercial for Crest
Total White;
Absolute Whitewash.
Keep his childhood in-tact:
Don’t question fact.
Another boy tugs his shirt
On a basketball court-of-law.
Fight time. Keigo frowns.
What’s the deal?
‘Sportsmanship’ real?
Jump in.
Teach, teacher.
Make Pink Floyd cry.
Die.
Rubber balls fly.
Didn’t you say that ‘defense’ matters?
Defend the ball?
Defend the man?
Defend your grades?
This is my turf.
Hallowed earth.
Wait—here’s a story.
See? Parables.
Anger steaming, . . . → Read More: Poem for Keigo
By Jared, on March 25th, 2010%
The teachers are nervous. The new guy is biting his fingernails and my buddy Joe Cool is already cleaning out his desk. It’s the end of the school year, which means that everyone is on edge.
The Japanese public school system operates on trimesters, so the school year ends in March, followed by a week . . . → Read More: The Great Teacher Shuffle
By Jared, on March 24th, 2010%
Smack!
“Don’t put your foot out so far. Do it again.”
Smack!
“Foot. Out. Far. What’s the problem? You no speaky Japanese?!”
Smack!
As it turns out, not all elderly Japanese masters of the martial disciplines are quite like the beneficent Mr. Miyagi. The head of my lineage of the Shinkage-ryu fencing style came to town for a training . . . → Read More: Wherein I Learn from a Jedi Master
By Jared, on March 4th, 2010%
“No!”
The Russian wasn’t happy. The day’s events were beginning to take their toll as my shoulders and forearms filled with lactic acid and my back tightened up like a boa constrictor in a freezer around a hot water bottle. And he was coming in for another attack.
“You have to letting the sword move its
. . . → Read More: And Sometimes the Bear Gets You
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