Josh is my favorite living American poet. This one was written on the road after a trip to Nikko, a haven in the mountains just far enough away from Tokyo to be really green, and near enough to be easy to get to from town. It has historical temples, gardens, a bridge that will take your breath away over one of the many streams, mountains, volcanic hot springs, and hiking trails through the mountains.
If I can remember to
Hold still
Listen
I want to be the tree
I want to feel the dirt
Left right sunlight
black
Left right sunlight
black
The long ladder legged trees open to hard golden sun
and I want to sit
What if I could stay,
40 days and 40 nights,
or one year,
or one hour,
could I stay an hour, and gather up my colors,
break myself open
cast out my seeds,
fall all my leaves
and lie bald upon the earth,
sink in
dissappear
I'm sitting on the train,
holding tightly to my ability to get off and stay
all the way until it's gone,
and we arrive.
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