The rain shimmers, slants, swirls,
In the brightly-lit Takiyama kaido, while
Cars speed past in rain-smoking wheels
Towards some planned sojourn.
In the semi-darkness of the sidewalks,
Made darker by sakura tree branches,
Young girls in umbrellas speed-past on bicycles
Laughing and chatting loudly.
The michi-no-eki frogs,
Carousing in paddy fields,
Sing unequivocally in a chorus
Of the rural past of Hachioji.
As you walk past shuttered windows
You see two different worlds:
The one fast asleep by late evening,
The other reluctant to go home early.
June 2007, Hachioji
No comments:
Post a Comment