to an audience of none

Laundry

Watching the laundry on my neighbor’s balcony blow in the wind, I wonder, will it blow away, and in that thought, I recall my first year in Japan, when my friend and I lived on the second story of an apartment building, above the language school where we worked.

I don’t recall exactly, but I think I may have been a little more modest than my friend and decided to dry my underwear indoors on a rack, rather than hang it outside to dry. Living near a river meant that our apartments were subject to strong winds and it wasn’t uncommon for students’ mothers to find a surprise on their cars after their children’s English lessons were finished.

(1)

underwear
on my car again
a windy day

Headphones

Rushing out the door in the morning, quickly wanting to choose a soundtrack for the ride to work then plug in my earphones and go, I reach into my pocket and, more times than not, find the most complicated puzzle. How did it get there?

(2)

my pockets have no hands
and yet
this knot in my headphones

Change

August, I often think of this month as the peak of summer, and yet, having only begun, this year I find myself noticing a myriad of signs that we are already transitioning into fall.

(3)

something different
in the birdsong this morning
a hint of fall

Connections

How interesting that memories separated by 30 years of time and a distance that spans halfway around the world could be connected by a single scent.

(4)

in the warm pine needles
I smell the summers of Maine
here in Japan

Unfamiliar

Once again, a surprise this week. First the sounds of what seem like angry shouting, and then flashing red lights seeping through the space between the curtains and the ceiling.

Unlike in other countries, many houses in Japan are built within a meter or two of the road, so when an ambulance parks in front of your house, it is right there, sometimes even close enough to reach out the window and touch.

Seeing an ambulance in the midst of an emergency response, parked right in front of my house as if it had come for me or one of my family members was very strange. Despite knowing exactly what an ambulance looks like, I found myself taken aback by how different an ambulance looked in this situation.

(5)

an ambulance
so this is how one looks
in front of my house

Rice

Again, signs that, despite the hot afternoons, summer is passing.

(6)

throughout the fields
a soft golden hue
signs of change

Throughout the Day

How many good ideas did I have today? How many interesting things did I see? How many things were said to me? How many favors were asked of me? How many people did I see or talk to? How many times did I smile, and what prompted those smiles?

(7)

so many things
in the course of a day
forgotten

As always, thank you for reading.
All poems and images are original. If you have any comments, feedback, or suggestions, please feel free to share them.