Terrace Mall, Fujisawa

Trudging through a climate-controlled

Carpeted retail universe,

Occasionally check pedometer,

Things could be worse... 

Gray Matter

Regardless of everything,

Neurons keep firing,

Constant brain fever,

Never quitting, never tiring...

Presently

The here and now, can

Pass too quickly, in a blur,

Some bits get saved as 

Memories, growing more obscure...

Early June

Plum rain day,

Humid, cloying,

Cool and gray...

The Pull

Sleep and love, things

Into which you fall,

Down into the mist,

The dreams and thrall...

本音と建て前

The polysemic facts, like

Some kind of mental equinox,

Appealed to both sides of

Perception, pure paradox... 

Extremities

Times can be plentiful,

Times can be lean,

Throw away food,

Or lick your plate clean,

No steady middle,

If you know what I mean...

A Question Of Effort

The number of victories

You'll be able to claim,

Often will depend

On how high you aim...

空想

Hear the talking words,

Listen but don't understand,

Bemused and wandering

In a mental hinterland,

A place not dark

And empty per se,

But rather peaceful

Fuzzy and gray...

Life Force

Inside the seed, an explosion,

Releases an urge,

A force to get bigger,

An upward surge,

Push through the dirt

Turn green, and emerge,

As something so different

From a tiny seed,

A miracle, indeed...

Be Careful

When walking through a

Relationship, attention must be paid,

To where the minefields

Have been laid...

Life Force

It boiled down to a battle

Between the instinct to survive,

Against a weakening will

To stay alive,

Inside her head,

The quiet voices,

Weighing and debating

Those choices...  

Green Army

Spring advancing on summer,

And weeds answer the call,

Invading the concrete places,

Growing crazy tall...

Good Morning

The process of waking up,

Get ready to face a new day,

Requires a series of actions

Be performed in a certain way,

Preferably in a certain order,

An intricate interplay,

Which I sometimes let

Slip, tumble, and slide away...

The Cost Of Power

Freedom grows from

Independence,

Bought with blood,

At tremendous expense,

Lives and limbs

Lost in its defense...

From The Sky

Instantaneous, like an arrow,

Precision strike, on the bug,

By a sparrow...

Superannuation

Things accumulated

The longer you live,

Wisdom, joint pain,

Perspective...

Ghostly

Above the clouds,

Which block and screen,

The Blood Moon

Glows, unseen...

梅雨の前

Azaleas wilting, under

Wet warming skies,

Meanwhile, Hydrangeas

Waiting to rise,

Shape-shift cycling

Green, growing, alive,

In the time before

The long rains arrive... 

Momentary Relief

A controlled fall of my

Butt, into the chair,

Instant relief from

Gravity, suck in some air,

Chores remain, but for now,

I just don't care...

Crossed Wires

The message received,

Was not what was sent,

Misinterpretation of

What was really meant,

And things quickly

Shifted to damage repair,

Calming, clarifying,

Clearing the air...

Rain Commute

Steady precipitation,

Great for plant life,

And indoor meditation,

He thinks, emerging into

The wetness, from the station...

Make It Go Away

Impending climate catastrophe,

Pulling blanket over my head,

Thinking "not applicable to me"...

ママチャリ

Once again, just barely missed,

Natural enemy of pedestrian,

Speeding sidewalk cyclist,

Reckless acceleration

With electric assist...

Azovstal

Two months in a bombed-out

Basement, somehow we survive,

Miraculously the Russians relent,

We escaped, we are alive...