But What About Kikyou?




“But what about Kikyou?”
 is the classic question asked
to slow down the story’s pace
when the romance comes too fast --
Her life recast as plot device.

Kikyou, bell-flowered maiden
Venging ghost cast in beauty,
toy of a twisted jewel
Intense, a sense of duty,
confounding those who loved her.

Reduced to a handy ploy
see her stand, her bow clenched tightly --
not aimed at Kagome, no,
but at those, laughing lightly
who would make of her pain a joke.

O, fortunately,
the arrows, you see
cannot penetrate
the writer’s substrate.
Thus, they remain safe.