Chase Leaves
Chasing Leaves
Some days are grittier than others
And that’s why we like to drop in on the fall
We meet the world with a curious eye
And find that miraculous spot —
Where all is forgotten and forgiven
Our scattered steps attract a wandering doe
Jolting awake the surrounding greens
The monkey, startled above in the tall fir tree,
Stares into the void of the rustling
A busy bee joins my scene
circling my camera
pointed at the silk flowing underneath the bridge
Rainbows don’t care if days are gloomy
The fog likes to fall months and miles apart
We find quietude where sounds belong
And breathe
(To Yakushima Island)
The Rain and Greenery of Yakushima
Yakushima was, a discovery.
We traveled to Yakushima Island in fall 2022, my husband and I. We boarded the boat in Kagoshima city, and the journey took thirty minutes. The island was, sometimes, covered in fog, but then the sun would come out in an instant. We saw several rainbows in our three days there.
We drove quite a bit. Driving in Yakushima was extraordinary. Trees and leaves greeted us. And mountains in the distance seemed to be humming. The mountains were gorgeous. We hiked into them for a day, and immediately into our hike, trees surrounded us.
The trees were very, very old…Ancient. They made the forest feel very warm, calming. I hiked on and on, until I stopped at a giant tree with exposed roots. There was a label: "気根杉." Air-root-cedar. But 気 in Japanese could also mean Qi, the universal life energy. At first, I thought that's what the label meant: that the tree has a lot of rooted, life energy. But later, I discovered that it could just mean that the tree has many exposed ("air") roots. In any case, I took several pictures with this tree. Back home, and years later, I still think about the tree.
Yakushima gave me many gifts and the tree was one of them. What were the others? Later.
屋久岛的雨声和绿叶
屋久岛是一个很惊喜的发现。
我们（我和我先生）在2022年的秋天旅行到了屋久岛。我们从鹿儿岛坐船到了屋久岛，大概要30分钟。岛上有很多的雾。但是一会儿就出了太阳。我们还看到了彩虹。
开车在屋久岛的道路上是一种很舒服的体验。我们看到了绿叶和山的侧影，仿佛在诉说什么。山很美。我们徒步进入了山里，发现很快就被树包围了。
这些树年龄都很大了，所以森林感觉很温暖。我走着走着，停在了一个叫“気根杉”（“气根杉”）的大树旁边。我以为“気根杉”的意思是说这个杉树有很多的灵气。但我之后查了查发现“气根”的意思是这个树有很多根是长在泥土之上，暴露在空气里的根。不管怎么样，我和这棵树狠狠合了几张照。然后我回到家以后，过了一两年，还时不时会想到它。
屋久岛给我的礼物有很多。这是其中一个。其他的还有呢？想到再说吧。
