a bare tree,
beside the stream,
sent leaves to the sea:
how far did they get?
"beyond eye & mind."
Beyond Eye & Mind [Kyōka]
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a little bird,
on a bit of driftwood,
speeds downriver
in the dusky, fading light.
doesn’t it know it can fly?

the cormorant,
glistening & dripping,
must air dry
before it’s a bird again;
humans cramp in the pool.

i see snakes jutting
from the water; usually
i’d discover
it’s not snakes but sticks,
but today isn’t the usual.

a tree’s last blossom
seems to wait til no one
is looking to drop.
what a thing it must be
to see a holdout yield.

the rising sun
hides behind winter trees
as a fat kid
hides behinds a fence post,
fooling no one.