Tuesday, July 15, 2025

The Land of the Rising Sun

We traveled to Japan last year, and I didn't recognize how lucky we were to see Mt. Fuji on a bright, beautiful day. Nor did I realize that it rained there as much as it did in England.


The Land of the Rising Sun


Mountains, rain and bullet trains sketch

the landscape of Japan.


In and out of tunnels - light, dark,

light - like taking turns at a game

of Blind Man's Bluff.


Mt. Fuji, capped in opals and pearls

for most of the year, shakes off winter,

emerges the color of cognac in summer.


The massif dominated as envisioned:

snow-crowned and silhouetted

against an abandoned cerulean sky.


I didn't recognize my good fortune

as moisture commonly veils the top.


A weather hint, if I'd paid attention:

the numerous parasols to use by every

merchant's door.


But the Japanese never insist. To impose

is impolite, and an umbrella remains

a suggestion even in downpours.




Marilyn Aschoff Mellor

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

Black Sheep

The trees are turning, and I have always wondered about the firs that drop their needles. It wan't until I discovered this was normal fo...