Summer Crickets

There are so many kinds of crickets that you will be astonished to know their names. There are field crickets, ground crick, tree crickets, ant crickets, Mormon crickets, cave crickets, mole crickets, Weta crickets, Jerusalem crickets, sand crickets and so on. These are shy, nocturnal creatures and in many cultures, like the Brazilian, their chirping brings money or rain. However to most of us, the chirping of crickets can be most relaxing and can put us to sleep. Here is a poem about crickets in Hachioji, a semi-rural suburb of Tokyo:

Silence,
Silence at last,
In the dark,
Soft bed;
Becoming one
With the chirping
of crickets.

Night descends
Every moment,
Slowly and quietly,
Lulling the senses;
The wind sleeps
In the chirping
Of a dream.

May 2007, Hachioji