Windbell with Bamboos

1

Verve

I see it again

in the sacred trinkets stall

at Inari Shrine—

the little windbell voicing

its verve on my veranda.

2

Relocation

I dangled it there

among the Buddha bamboos

in the shiftless air—

the windbell that days before

had dinged too much by my door.

3

Unintended

It’s not quite what I

wanted when I hung the wind-

bell in the bamboos:

they cherished it as their own

and coddled to death its tone.

Andrew Lansdown

Japanese Reflections

i

Bashful violets

are you familiar with Basho’s

haiku and haiga?

ii

Haijin Chiyo-ni

won’t you brighten the wagtail’s fan

with calligraphy?

iii

Buddha lookalike—

frog in the overflow spout

of the water-tank.

iv

Katsu! I exclaim,

clapping—thus the mosquito

gains enlightenment.

Andrew Lansdown