I meet a raccoon family
Floating bamboo leaf boats for fun
My clumsiness
Makes for an awkward conversation
“You spout all sorts of
Worldly proclamations
But how are things at home?” they ask
I don’t have a response
I say I’ve got preparations to take care of,
I bow
And
Head home
Watching tadpoles in a rice paddy
I meet a crow couple
I speak politely to everyone I meet…
And the crows look me in the eye
It’s not as if
I’m fooling myself
But I flinch when they seem to ask,
“How do you really feel?”
I say I’ve got work to do
I say farewell
And
Head home
Sometimes it seems like
Everything I do backfires
I don’t have a quick reply
To their question, “Anything good happen this year?”
I say I’ve got that thing tomorrow,
Bow
Say farewell
And head home
This is what happened, that one day