Stone Steps

When you make a staircase,
Sketch its geography, and
Then embed it in nature,
It can last for centuries.

It needs no care,
It needs no cleaning,
It needs no repair and
It needs no adornment.

The wind cleans its surface,
The brook slakes its thirst,
The silver grass adorns it,
The cedar protects it.

Sit under the shadow of the tree,
Stretch your vision in a yearning
Beyond the cavernous hollow
And collapse within yourself.

Let your eyes brush past
The shadow under each step,
And watch the grasses sway
And the water glimmer.

Soon you can apprehend
The symbolic significance
Of a journey and the need
To hide in the universe.

August 10, Takao