Japanese Heron

Higashi Honganji Temple, Kyoto

1

Resignation

If it’s not because

the koi in the temple moat

are too big to kill,

why does the heron regard

them with such resignation?

2

Aspiration

It has the grey robes

and the meditative pose:

perhaps the heron

on the temple bridge rail hopes

to become a Buddhist monk?

3

Speculation

Is it a heron

aspiring to return a priest,

or is it a priest

reincarnated a heron …

or perhaps purely a heron?

Andrew Lansdown

Nijo Castle, Kyoto

Stonework

The moat’s stonework

alone is stunning! Ponder

the great grey blocks

of granite snugged together

to wall in the wide water!

The Mystery of the Southern Mountains

Why is Kyoto

encircled by low mountains

except in the south?

Did the shogun quarry there

for granite for his fortress?

The Interlocking Stones

Pieces of fretsaw-

cut plywood reassembled

to form a jigsaw—

that, in their neat interlock,

is the way the wall-stones look.

Andrew Lansdown