I peck at particles like meteor dust
An offering of egg, rice and chicken
Skittering from a moto bike.
Outside the beauty salon the girl
Forages a nose, arranges immaculately a part
In her braided hair, polishing her teeth
On a Narcissus phone.
This is the shock of the human, its
Unnatural speed and disturbance.
This is the city, a boutique hotel abutting
A sheet-metal shop. Sparks fizzle and glow
Like fireflies in a jar.
The roadside offering
Is sufficient.
No one remembers.
Richard Oyama’s work has appeared in Premonitions: The Kaya Anthology of New Asian North American Poetry, The Nuyorasian Anthology, Breaking Silence, Dissident Song, A Gift of Tongues, About Place, Pirene’s Fountain and Buddhist Poetry Review. He has a M.A. in English: Creative Writing from San Francisco State University.