Nancy: That first step away from his hut, that last quick look back – a start on the path toward an unexpected gift.
As For Him So For Me
Late fruit so sweet
old bones warm in the sun
Ryokan drowses
Years in a mountain hut
giving what he had
poems, dharma stories
Now, wrapped in a warm shawl
he sips tea
love, he ponders love
So late, this teaching
she hands him an apple
so late, so sweet
Alan: Late in life, Ryokan fell in love with the beautiful nun Teishen, who was with him when he died.
Teishen Tries To Write About Cherry Blossoms
I found him
out in the rain
looking up
at still-bare branches.
How withered he seemed!
leaning on his gnarled stick –
an old crow in his last molt,
water dripping from his beak –
so shabby his cloak!
I wanted to help him in
to warmth, green tea
but didn’t know where
his mind was –
left him, saying nothing,
rain trickling down his cheeks,
or tears.
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