Third place winner for the Jo-Anne Hirshfield Memorial Poetry Award. This award is through my local library and accepts entries from anyone in the Chicago area.
for more information on the Award go to this link.
http://www.epl.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=212&Itemid=322



My poem is below. feel free to comment.




Safe in the Dark


as I wander through
the narrow white concrete
streets of Kyoto at night
I find a small shrine
nestled between a garden wall and
a light post
someone has left an offering
for the spirit who
still guards these
crossroads

I get lost in Tokyo
dark metal structures loom above
as I pass the dingy street level train crossing
I hold my bag close and watch out of the
corner of my eye
until I see
a small shrine
stuck between a storefront
and a parking garage
there someone has left flowers for the
spirit who lives, guards this place

my Japanese friend tells me
it is dangerous to be alone
at night
I remind her that I am from a city
in a country where people
are allowed to own
guns
and the only place offerings
and flowers
are left on the side of the road
is where someone has been
killed