Refreshment

Simple pleasures 

Are the best, they say,

Ice-cold drink

On a hot humid day...

恩

As a Japanese,

You always know,

Your relative rank,

And what you owe...

Inflammable

It’s not supposed to happen,

But then it does,

It flared up in an instant,

And then it was...

The Grind

Better off oblivious 

To all the time we spend,

On those micro-tasks

Which never end,

Dressing, cooking,

Bathing and cleaning,

Endless errands

With no particular meaning...

Traveling

Analyze and calculate,

But don’t forget to ponder,

Open up your mind

And just let it wander...

Where it will go,

How it gets there,

You just won’t know...

真夏

Heat, cicadas sing,

And, above us,

Blue, with 

Curling cumulus...

(Photo: Geoffrey M. Hamilton, 1955~2011) 

Space Invaders

Once upon a once upon,

Dog days of summer，

Not much going on,

When aliens quietly landed,

With an option to attack,

But depressed by what they saw,

They left, and never came back...

Misadventure

Start off on the wrong foot

This mad manic Monday,

Things became complicated,

And just stayed that way...

Wallflower Defense

To mitigate risk,

And avoid getting hurt,

Her plan was to be

Passive, pale, inert...

Corona Gloaming

Serene, in the Moonlight, gently glowing 

Orange wands, fluorescent vests,

Quietly, waving and guiding drivers 

Arriving for their PCR tests...

Hidden Treasure

Clear out the junk and 

Clutter from your mind,

What will emerge,

What will you find?

Perhaps a jewel

Of a different kind...

Paid The Cost

Freedom and democracy 

Painfully build,

Over the bones 

Of tyrants killed,

Protected by patriots

And the blood they spilled...

Cold Galaxy

Feeling insignificant 

When viewing the universe,

But at least my belly’s full,

Things could be worse...

1968

That time we rebelled, questioned

What it was all about,

Grew our hair long, 

Tuned in, turned on, dropped out...

Graded

Poor, average, best,

Your rank and value,

Determined by a test...

When It Happens

Inspiration,

Seemingly missing, gone,

But then, it reappears,

Like a light-bulb turned on,

Arriving, almost unbidden,

From the place

Where it was hidden...

たらい回し

Bureaucracy wars,

Duck, stall, avoid defeat,

Then declare victory,

Mission complete...

Equalizer

A device which propels pieces

Of metal at high speed,

Invented to fill a 

Deadly human need...

Weather Report

Sort of funny,

That my head is cloudy,

When the forecast was for sunny...

Indigenous

To them, it was the Wild West,

A new frontier,

Small comfort to us,

Who were already here...

Paradoxical

The pace of vaccinations

Frustratingly slow

The trains all run

On time though...

Collision Avoidance

Making my explanation,

I was forced to elide,

For sometimes, some things,

Are better to hide...