May I rest for a bit?
I am old and I am bored. I was never very wise and my mind has never walked much further than my feet. Only my forest. My forest … I go back and back to wander there. ~Wang-Wei*
*cited: The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Jade Flute, by Various
A broken dream–
where do they go
the butterflies? ~Ichimu*
*cited: Y Hoffmann, Japanese Death Poems
Hidden among the roots
of grass I hear
a cuckoo ~ Otsuin*
Today my memory invites me to that time…the time my grandparents invited me to go with them to visit family. Sitting in Great Aunt Ida’s living room with her siblings and their spouses listening to shared stories of unknown family and friends, a adolescent’s sudden insight, “that is what being old is….sharing stores of those who died in one’s yesterdays.”
Today as a great grandmother, I find myself wandering through recalled memories with yearnings to visit past times colored by gratitude and secret desires to resolve moments of disconnect.
Seeking moments of my mom and dad, sisters and brothers, friends, extended family, and teachers and imagining us all sitting together around a table of trust, the trust that evaporates caution, sharing yesterday’s stories of being.
*cited in Y Hoffmann, Japanese Death Poems
The temple bell roused me from dreams
And waiting for the starlit dawn
The night, alas! was long as are
One hundred autumn nights.~The Sarashina Diary*
*cited: Translated: Annie Shipley Omoni & Kōchi Doe. Diaries of Court Ladies of Old Japan Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1920.
… we stand without talking, we stand with tears … to think that I must travel a thousand miles of mist and rain and water! The evening clouds are gathering again, and the sky widens to the south. It is an old story: parting from [loved ones is] full of pain … ~Li Yung
See the mist around my pavilion: before my eyes there is mist all about. It is the image of my sadness, the reflection of my dull, still eyes. Forever will my dull eyes stare at you, pale mist, my eyes that never will light up again. ~Li Yi-hang*
*cited: The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Jade Flute, by Various
image and poetry submitted in response to Paula’s (Lost in Translation) Words of Wisdom challenge.
a child’s smile…silent
resounding within the heart,
memories…blossom
by firelight
listening to the silence
of things we can’t see ~Larry Gross*
*cited: Jackie Hardy, Haiku Poetry Ancient & Modern
the dandelions too
have shaved heads…
festival day ~Issa*
*cited: http://www.haikuguy.com
my hut
the butterfly’s sleeping place
tonight ~Issa (www.haikuguy.com)
Sunlight, shadows, and Spring Creek’s current reflected on the wall of an underpass. I hope you enjoy.
lens-artists photo challenge: buildings and other structures
green moss–
all the way to my lap
spring’s rainbow ~Issa*
*www.haikuguy.com noted. A love note to Planet Earth. Spring’s dazzling colors touch and include Issa. He gazes and realizes: I am (we are) part of this glory!
the lantern blown out–
the sound of the wind
through the leaves ~Shiki*
*cited: Jackie Hardy, Haiku Poetry Ancients & Modern. Tuttle Publishing, 2022
a meditative journey 
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