Image from Douglas Shimizu
Sun on my face, almost warm
But the air still bites
Not wanting to deny
Winter’s slipping grip.
Few trees are still bare, asleep.
Crocuses bloom at their feet
Trying to tickle them awake
To enjoy the still weak sun shine.
Children’s voices overpower
Busy birds beeping.
(Isn’t it a school day?)
Is there still school these days?
My wardrobe has yet to feel the spring.
Flight jacket over fleece over Heattech
Fail to block today’s gusts
Still chilling me, my coffee gone cold.
Shadow branches meander without destination,
No load, no flow to guide them.
No terrestrial master, they follow the sun,
Moving across the grass, minute by minute.
Once straight lines now curve over rock.
While wooden bends are straightened by illusion.
Their contortions further stretch as the hours lengthen,
Flat trees are now longer than they are high.
I, too, creep along the park bench
Chasing that sunny spot to light my reading.
A few more pages please before
I run out of wood.
Douglas grew up in Vancouver’s Japantown area when it still was a Japantown and has seen all the changes it has gone through. After graduating from UBC, he lived in Kyoto teaching English and studying linguistics. No, not Japanese. Mesopotamian. Go figure. Since returning to Canada, Douglas has tried his hand at many types of art including drawing, painting, photography and writing, and is still trying to find his passion.