Flower and Willow Child

I met her quiet by chance,
In Japan she was serving tea.
Not like we do but with an artistry
that filled a thousand years.
She was a geisha in her full
traditional dress
She said she was a Geisha
And was skilled
in entertaining men,
in a cultural way
and not those
ways of a loose woman.
She was so beautiful
and had a grace
that as a westerner
I had never seen.
I hired her to entertain me
for my visit

She was delightful
she taught me of old Japan
its cultures.
She entertained me in song
I asked her to sing her favorite
It was Madame Butterfly
It was so lovely
I became close to her
What I did not know
Was I was falling in love with her
at the end of my two week stay.
I begged for her to come with me
Back to the states
She said
I am of the
flower and willow world
her grandmother
and her mother
were once geisha
and now her.

A few years later
I returned to Japan
Outside the teahouse
where she worked
She now was
​the head of geisha's
at the teahouse
and did not entertain
anymore.
But when she saw me
She did a final performance
of Madame Butterfly
Thanked me for coming
I am not sure but
I thought I saw a small tear
falling down her make up.
as she gently
returned to her duties