I always knew.
From the very beginning,
I knew that I was here for great works.
At the age of twelve,
I felt called to serve as a nun.
A difficult decision it was,
giving up many opportunities and experiences.
But I felt drawn and couldn’t give up.
At seventeen, I had decided.
A year later I was waving farewell.
Goodbye to everything I knew.
My mother.
My sister.
My life.
Only to discover things beyond.
Retirement
By Ethan Gartin
After two years of his Shogun duties,
Tokugawa Ieyasu retired from his position.
His responsibilities before retirement included foreign affairs,
And he welcomed the trade which helped Japan prosper.
Commercial profits.
Firearms.
Information.
In his age, he wished to continue his life in Sumpu – His old home.
The peaceful land would please his aging heart.
He assigned the duties of Shogun to his son Hidetada,
So his family lineage and legacy was
Secure.
Honor washed over him.
Shogun
By Ethan Gartin
At around 60 years of age,
The ambitious leader achieved his goal:
He became Shogun.
He was finally acknowledge as
The most powerful daimyo in all of Japan.
The most ruthless daimyo in all of Japan.
His glory,
His honor,
His satisfaction outweighed his years of struggle.
His years of commitment.
His main goal was complete,
But there was still work to be done.
In order to keep peace in the name of the emperor,
Obstacles needed to be removed.
Her city is beautiful!
I caught a glance from afar.
Outsiders are astonished from miles away.
I am astonished.
Home of the biggest sacrifice on the Mediterranean.
Home of the separation of wheat and tear,
from dynasty to slavery,
from the essence of power within the walls as they pulse with the heartbeat of Amun.
It is as if each block was held by a different god.
It is as if she truly is Isis.
Her palace is the resting for the gods.
-An Outsider
*Amun was the god of creation.
A Promising Domain
By Ethan Gartin
Finally –
Finally all of Japan would be his.
His work was finally paying off at the death of his only real rival.
The rest of the daimyo foolishly campaigned in Korea,
But I knew Better, I knew better!
The clever daimyo reflected upon his wise actions,
With the combination of Korea and the lands he received from the Hojo,
His domain was most promising in every way:
Military,
Production,
Organization.
Japan would be his once he could
Finish his remaining enemies and
Secure the loyalty of his many vassals.
His determination and patience finally had given him power,
His rightful power.
Patience and Rivalry
By Ethan Gartin
Ieyasu contemplated his rivalry with Toyotomi Hideyoshi,
The only man standing in his way of being
The strongest Daimyo.
If only, if only he were gone.
Power should’ve been his for the taking.
That persistent pest,
That resilient wretch,
I will crush him!
But then he remembered patience;
Patience was all he needed to win.
That fool was in bad health, and his campaign in Korea
Would surely bring his demise.
So Ieyasu would wait,
Wait for the perfect time to cement authority.
Purpose
By Ethan Gartin
The aging leader sat at his table and drank his tea;
He took in his surroundings,
Digested them,
Understood them.
The falling leaves suggested a coming winter.
The wind persisted to shake the outside.
Ieyasu understood the importance of tranquility
And its necessity for honor and glory.
Tokugawa Ieyasu would cement himself in history,
For this was the only thing of which he was sure.
It was his purpose.
A Funeral for a Friend
Ethan Gartin
The air was suffocating,
Hot beyond reason.
Tokugawa watched the burial of his companion,
His ally,
His friend.
Many years had passed since their childhood,
And Tokugawa reflected on these events.
During his time as a hostage of the Oda clan,
He grew close to Oda Nobunaga,
And he gave him the highest respect.
Nobunaga’s death left behind many lands he had conquered;
He was a powerful adversary
As well as a great partner.
Tokugawa uncomfortably shifted in his position.
He bowed his head in honor of a fallen hero.
Tokugawa Ieyasu
By Ethan Gartin
Of age and the new leader of his province,
Matsudaira Takechiyo became Motsudaira Motoyasu.
The clever daimyo matured quickly.
With a name to make,
With a people to lead,
With a goal to accomplish,
Motoyasu strengthened his retainers and freed his hostage family.
No longer could he sit idly while they suffered.
After countless accomplishments – both military and diplomatic,
Such as deceiving enemies to attack nonexistent armies and making allies –
The maturing leader became Tokugawa Ieyasu,
A man of ruthless dedication,
And his goals and his power and his wisdom only increased with passing time.
They find her laying in her bed.
She lays there naked with a glass and a bottle.
She must have really done it this time.
Rest her poor soul.
The beautiful Marilyn Monroe,
Has took one too many.
It’s heard all around the world.
The most beautiful woman to live,
is gone.
They think I’m crazy.
The keep me locked up,
Will they ever realize nobody is perfect?
I’m not like my mother.
I’m not her.
I don’t need their help.
I’m not crazy.
I just want to be free.
I want to live a normal life.
Just let me be.
Confinement
By Ethan Gartin
The young boy has been here some time
With no choice but to accept his confinement, but
He does not protest.
He does not worry.
He does not grieve.
Left as a sacrifice after being captured, yet
He retains his honor.
I have no choice, for I have been outdone by the boy’s father,
Swindled by his cunning.
This disgraceful humiliation.
This boy shall stay – I will keep him even if I do not kill him.
Who is this patient and subtle boy
Who never seems to doubt his purpose?
– Oda Nobuhide
The Great Unifier of Japan
By Ethan Gartin
Matsudaira Takechiyo was born to the Mikawa province of Japan.
The land of the Rising Sun.
The province of great fighting spirit among the samurai.
He looked to his father, the minor lord of the local land;
An honorable family in which to be born.
Honor awaited the young boy, for he would one day be
The Great Unifier of Japan.
He listed to his father tell of tales of glory
As he looked to the rising sun with great ambition.
Warmth.
Breeze.
Cherry blossoms.
Work to begin.
The bottle is dwindling to nothing.
She’s drowning in her own thoughts.
A few more pills should numb the pain.
The tears soak her face.
She locks the door just to be left alone.
The light goes out.
She traded herself in to become someone better.
The beautiful Marilyn Monroe lost in her pain.
Believing if she gives herself away to another man…
She might find true love.
So sleeping alone will end.
“I need Joe!” she keeps telling them.
She feels that he can save her,
To save her from herself.
She can’t do it alone anymore.
You can’t fix a heart,
That has never been whole.
She knows no matter what he will love her.
“Get me out of here,” she pleads.
She tells him she’s not crazy.
The four walls in close her in.
The past creeps in the darkness of her room.
“Don’t leave me.”
“My love for you will never go.”
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