On this day 12/12/12, I have heard much media discussion concerning coincidences of number. My own thoughts continue to examine the multiple meanings of "identity." Here is a lovely tanka by Izumi Shikibu (b 976?) that focuses on the importance of one:
This heart,
longing for you,
breaks
to a thousand pieces--
I wouldn't lose one.
From The Ink Dark Moon: Love Poems by Ono no Komachi and Izumi Shikibu, Women of the Ancient Court of Japan (Vintage Books, 1990), translated by Jane Hirshfield with Mariko Aratani.
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