Friend: The Roget’s International Thesaurus listed friend as:
acquaintance, confidant, inseparable, alter ego, sisterhood, fellowman, well-wisher, supporter, companion, associate, compeer, consort, colleague, partner, crony, chum, buddy, roommate, schoolmate, playmate, …
I identify friend as one with whom, for a too-short period of time, we walked side-by-side, sharing our unique and separate lives and gifting us with memories to cherish during the times of separation.
Even into the mind always clouded with grief,
There is cast the reflection of the bright moon.
~Lady Sarashina ( Diaries of Court Ladies of Old Japan)
air-raid sirens-
the last to turn off the lights
is a temple with blossoms
~ Sugita Hisajo (M Ueda, Far Beyond the Field)
A photo that says…Danger!
those with wings have no roots
those with roots cannot fly
Wanderlust…traveling through time
while wandering about
the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada
Forest.
Thousands of tree-bodies and mine.
Leaves are waving,
ears hear the stream’s call,
eyes see into the sky of mind,
a half-smile unfolds on every leaf.
There is a forest here
because I am here.
But mind has followed the forest
and clothed itself in green. ~Thich Nhat Hanh*
May Peace Prevail On Earth
*cited: Thich Nhat Hanh, The Sun My Heart
Without my journey.
And without the spring.
I would have missed this dawn.
~Shiki (The Moon in the Pines, Trans: J Clements)
It matters not
What you might say.
Echoes will come
From dead trees. ~Issa (The Year of My Life, Trans: N YuasaJ)
Soon…the warmth of spring rains will transform bare branches into dense shades of green.
The first dream of the year –
I kept it a secret
and smiled to myself ~Sho-U
If it were my Wish
To pick the white chrysanthemums,
Puzzled by the frost
Of the early autumn time,
I by chance might pluck the flower.
~Oshikochi no Mitsume
little snail
look! look!
at your shadow
~Issa, cited: Haiku of Kobayashi Issa
“me and my shadow…a good match”
a meditative journey 
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