Bedside Story
In the poem "A Bedside Story" by Mitsuye Yamada, a father relates an "old Japanese legend" to his young daughter (2). The legend involves an old woman who seeks shelter in "many small villages," looking for a place to stay for the night (6). In response to her petitions, "each door opened...then closed," (9; 12). Finally, after an evening of rejections the old woman climbs a hill and lays down to rest. When she reaches the top the full moon peeks out from behind a cloud and the old woman is overcome with gratitude. She calls out "in supplication" and in immense gratitude for having been refused a place to stay (29). Were it not for the villagers' refusing her a bed, she might never have beheld the natural beauty of the full moon. When the father recounts this tale to his daughter in modern-day Seattle, the meaning of the story falls on deaf ears. "That's the end?" the girl says to her Papa (45). The 45-line free verse poem encompasses the irony inherent in the story-within-a-story, as both the narrator and the old woman perceive the world from a hilltop vantage point. The hilltop becomes a symbolic place that links the old woman and the young girl, who although she cannot fully appreciate the old woman's sense of gratitude at simp
The woman's gratitude derives more from an effortless epiphany than from hard work and effort, signified by Yamada's using the word "Suddenly," in line 23: "Suddenly the clouds opened." Yamada uses passive voice to underscore the hand of the divine in the old woman's epiphany. The spiritual nature of the woman's gratitude is conveyed also through the fact that "the clouds opened / and a full moon came into view," (23-24). The use of passive voice here again shows that the woman felt blessed to have been refused a place to stay, far more blessed than she might have felt with the material comforts of a bed. The young girl experiences something similar to an epiphany: a moment of utter wonder and shock that such a simple story could come to such a simple end. Having grown up surrounded by material comforts, entertained by American television, the young girl was expecting far more from the story than it delivered. She therefore fails to see the moral of the story and fails to reach any spiritual realization or epiphany. The old woman's appreciation for the simple yet powerful comfort of the full moon contrasts with the jaded dismissal of the story by the young girl. When she hears this legend, the girl "shouted" at her father for a more dashing ending. "That's the end?" is the last line of the poem, driving home the main theme of Yamada's poem (45). Young people growing up with the material comforts of the modern world can often fail to appreciate the subtle moments that offer spiritual solace, moments such as those enjoyed by the old woman. Moreover, the young girl takes for granted the comforts of her particular hilltop home. For the young girl, a hilltop means little more than a place from which to look down on the world. The old woman, on the other hand, was also able to use the hilltop as a place from which to look upward. Whereas the old woman's vantage point offered her a widened-and wizened-perspective of the world, the young girl's vantage point seems narrow and insular in comparison. ly seeing the moon, nevertheless appreciates the "comfort of our / hilltop home," (41-42). Through such poignant symbolism and irony, Yamada conveys the dichotomy between old and young generations. Mitsuye Yamada's brief poem "A Bedtime Story" examines the conflicts between the ancient and the modern worlds, and between their corresponding mystical and material worldviews. The language the poet uses to describe the old woman's gratitude is inherently ironic, as when she states, "
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Approximate Word count = 1677
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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