On the day after an autumn rain
Today
Acorns falling
Frogs jumping
Leaves scattering
With you
On the day after an autumn rain everything moves one deeply. The fields are woven in a brocade of color. In the woods, under the oak trees, acorns fall in a torrent. Light evening rain; frogs cross a dirt road in the black night jumping everywhere.
We make up poetry.
I suddenly looked around
It’s late September and yesterday was the first day of autumn – officially. The days have been getting colder but I’ve been more concerned about the drought we’re in and the new plants I need to keep watered to notice much else.
But today I drove to town and everything seems to have changed. Even the most ordinary things are beautiful: farm fields, newly harvested squash, an old rusty fence.
Shadow and light
Last night we sat zazen during a wild thunderstorm. It was early evening and still light; the clouds came and went furiously illuminating the room with lightning and then darkening it. The wind blew the trees outside and rain pelted down on the roof. Inside all was quiet and serene. Dark and mysterious. We disappeared into the shadow and depth of twilight.
Evening twilight, my favorite time to sit zazen.
