Monks whose ears have heard
The sage advice of Buddha
Walk shoeless, smiling

Temples adorn sky
Like regal glimmering gems
On Earth’s diadem

They are exquisite
Sanctuaries for roaming souls
In need of counsel

Cherry blossom drifts
Afloat on gentle zephyr
Sweet breath of summer

Babies with big eyes
Peer up to the mountains
Sensitive spirits

Here the animals
Are totems of other worlds
Made accessible

Through deep reflection
Which surrenders the soul to
Deep primal chaos

The forgotten ways
Lie dormant like volcanoes
I await the first

Fluid eruption
Of lucid lava, making
Me awake, conscious

Grand mythology
Dwells in these magic islands
Centuries of tale

In Harajuku
The market awash with style
Romance in neon

****** dresses
And lace umbrellas, dainty
Adorn boys and girls

Wild self-expression
That dandy philosophy
Embodied in style

Land of monks and youth
Japan a portal, doorway
To past and future

Where temples mingle
With technics and skyscrapers
Strange modernity