Shinto Shrine

Alright, one more poem before I leave for France and Spain. The trip to Japan and all that we did there I will remember. See you in May.  

Shinto Shrine

       The lone monk in the temple,

200 steps up, couldn't hide his beaming

       face when day trippers quietly

sprouted like the occasional wildflower.

         First a riverboat ride then a climb

that shrugs off coats. Only a handful of others

          struggled to be in this holy place.

A hermit would discourage such people:

                     dodging them.

A wise mendicant welcomed all visitors:

              listening to their stories.

Brimming with bonhomie,

         this contemplative with his chants

                                  calmed my restless spirit.

              Silence steered the watercraft back.

Marilyn Aschoff Mellor