Amy Uyematsu (1947–2023) was born in Pasadena and majored in mathematics at UCLA. Her first poetry collection, 30 Miles from J-Town, received the Nicholas Roerich Poetry Prize. She published several other collections, including That Blue Trickster Time (What Books, 2022), Stone Bow Prayer, and The Yellow Door. Active in the development of Asian American studies at UCLA, Uyematsu coedited the widely used anthology Roots: An Asian American Reader.

Shamisen and Straw

by Amy Uyematsu

haiku based on photos from Rural Japan: Radiance of the Ordinary

Tsunami
Snow on blue roof tiles—
sleeping village
            awakened by waves


The Way
Two strangers stop
on the road—wordless
            and bowing
People on couch
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