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Walking along the edge of a small Japanese town sandwiched between the sea and a quick-rising mountain ridge, I came upon a temple complex with this written at its entrance.
I wondered, was the person who wrote this message really referring to flowers, maybe the flowers on the long path of a temple pilgrimage, or was he speaking generally about the small details of life—a baby’s smile, the taste of the first strawberries of the year, the feeling of a spring breeze after a long winter, etc.?
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the old crow reminds me
starting over is easy
with the ducks on the pond
plastic bottles
and everything
changed
a tiny forget-me-not
left behind by winter
amidst the preparations
for you spring breeze
inching their way forward
stillness in motion
on the temple steps
my companion
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