Unfolding Bud

Unfolding Bud

Naoshi Koriyama

Naoshi Koriyama is a Japanese poet and author. Born in Kikai Island, Kagoshima Prefecture, he first attended the University of New Mexico. He graduated from the New York State College for Teachers at Albany in 1954 and returned to Japan to teach and write poetry. His interest in poetry came from using it as a tool to combat his feelings of loneliness when he transferred from New Mexico to Albany in 1951. From 1967 until 1997, he was a professor at Toyo University and holds the title of professor emeritus. He has published nine collections in English, three from Japanese to English, and in 2011, he published his first volume entirely in Japanese.

One is amazed

By a water-lily bud

Unfolding

With each passing day,

Taking on a richer color

And new dimensions.

One is not amazed,

At first glance,

By a poem,

Which is tight-closed

As a tiny bud.

Yet one is surprised To see the poem Gradually unfolding,Revealing its rich inner self

As one reads it

Again

And over again.

FIRST STANZA

Through this comparison, the reader is shown how a poem starts out with a hidden message inside, waiting to blossom and reveal itself. The connotation used by Koriyama reminds the reader that a "tiny bud" is how a beautiful masterpiece begins, and one must be patient during the early stages of a poem until its true meaning is discovered.

Through these vivid words the reader is able to see how a flower is transformed to be magnificent and beautiful. One can also see that this metamorphosis does not occur overnight, but rather it takes time to fully run its course. Just as Koriyama describes a plant as "Taking on richer color" , he later refers to a poem as "Revealing its rich inner self" .

His diction convinces the reader of their similarities since they both develop a fuller beauty and meaning as time goes on. Through these comparisons, Koriyama shows the audience that to discover the true meaning of a poem, one must be patient and wait for its beauty to bloom.

Open Ended

Question 1: Does the water-lily ‘opens up’ (that is, bloom) quickly over a night or day, or gradually over a few days? What supports your answer?

Open Ended

Question 2: Why do you think the speaker speaks of the water-lily ‘unfolding’ rather than ‘blooming’?

Open Ended

Question 3: What is amazing about that process of opening up? What two things change each day?

Open Ended

Question 4: The water-lily grows larger in size and gets a deeper colour as it unfolds. What does the poem do?

Open Ended

Question 5: What is our first reading of a poem compared to? Do we find that surprising?

Open Ended

Question 6: Does the poem just unfold as time passes or does it happen when we do something a few times? What do we have to do?

Open Ended

Question 7: When are we actually surprised about the poem? What causes it?

Open Ended

Question 8: Why do you think the last three lines are written in that way? Does it make our reading of them slower, adding value to each re-reading?

Open Ended

Question 9: What words describe the state of the poem when it is first seen? Why have those words being used?

Open Ended

Question 10: What has this poem taught you about how a poem is best read? State the difference between reading a story and reading a poem in a short paragraph.

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