“My home lies deep in a bamboo grove
countless vertical stalks
shoot up all over and block the path
their topmost grass-blades sweep the sky
tough and weathered they are
lost in stillness, wrapped in fog
like rows of pine or cypress
a subtler fragrance than peach or plum
straight up — one jointed section on the next
though hollow their roots are indestructible
elegant virginal bamboo
let me root down and spread among you”