A Thousand Voices
Saint Paul, 30 May 2005
A typhoon relents
The ascent of a vernal bough
As a mourning dove departs
Evening cedes a leeward moon
A thousand voices beget a
Thousand whispers
Yakusugi’s canopy
Sentinel for centuries
Table and chairs of antiquity
Notes:
The Yakusugi is a venerable species of cedar tree that has thrived for millennia
on Yakushima Island off the south coast of Japan’s southern-most region of Kyusyu.
Many Sugi on the island are believed to be several thousands of years old.