East

Shaolin#4 (2003) by John Scane

Hers is the first house
in the little mountain town
to capture the morning rays.

She wakes before the dawn
makes herself cup of tea
and patiently waits.

She claims that she can smell
the sunbeams moments before
they first ascend.

Someday we will travel
to the land of the rising sun
Speak nihongo and eat raw fish.

I shall ride the shinkansen
to see the cherry blossoms
at the Heian Shrine.

The women and children
will giggle at me but stay
far away from you.

Being old is now
a part of the meal
I can anticipate;

The same way my mind
relives sampling
the hors d’ouevres of youth.

I wonder if it is so,
that every moment, every act,
is a new beginning.

09/21/2009