Some people fight them. Some people embrace them—proof of a life well-lived.
Is this a poem about an old person reflecting on the changes that have taken place in his/her face over the course of a long lifetime, or is it a poem about a young person who is comfortable with the knowledge of what each smile is slowly creating?
(1)
smiling
my face becomes
a thousand-piece puzzle
These days, gas prices haven’t been particularly outrageous. It’s not like we’re experiencing a sudden spike in prices or anything, but having bought a bigger car two years ago, and with youthful memories of buying gas for less than a dollar a gallon, it’s a shock every time I have to fill the tank.
(2)
gas station
another paycheck
comes and goes
I’ve worked at a number of Japanese schools over the years. Many of them, I’ve noticed, have rundown animal pens of one kind or another. Until recently, I never paid much attention to any of them. They were simply objects that I passed by when entering and leaving each school.
A few weeks ago, though, while watching children running around an empty rabbit hutch in a school courtyard, I realized that these were leftover relics, buildings that hint at a different time, one with different values and educational ideologies.
(3)
the empty rabbit hutch
in the school courtyard
a bygone time
After observing my body and grooming accordingly, I get in my car and leave for work. During the drive, for some reason, I think back on a high school classmate. I don’t know why, but my thoughts tend to go there about once a year.
What happened to him on that day? I’ll always wonder.
(4)
longer now
than your life
my ear hair
Grey. Rain. Sleet. Rain. Grey. Monday through Friday. All week. Rain. But then …
(5)
sandwiched
between two showers
a touch of sunshine
Are you someone who pays attention to expiration dates? Do you take things from the back of the shelf?
I never used to be, but I’ve become one through the constant scolding of my wife.
And now, having raised two children, I know that they apply to children as well, only they aren’t written as clearly.
(6)
expiration dates
pulling bedtime stories
from the back of the shelf
Kids get bigger. The price of everything goes up. The kids need more. They use more. Even we, aging, begin to cost more.
At the end of the week. At the end of the month. At the end of the year.
All those fun things we used to do.
These days, we do less and less.
(7)
inflation
our pastimes slowly
disappear
As always, thank you for reading.
