Mountain

Because they/we don't understand,

And they/we pretend to be not pretending to understand,

They/we hang on to little ends of words randomly,

Without realizing that they/we have instead actually stepped

On the foot of a beautiful man or woman,

or chanced upon a mountain a thousand years old.

Confusionius Said

Lost, again lost, forever lost, foie gras.

Depressed, always depressed, still depressed, Denpasar.

Eating, every day eating, never not eating, music.

Confusionius said:

"The universe is wide; how can you not get lost?

"The heart does have a broad range of channels; how can depression not be one, or actually, several, of them, just like there's CNN, BBC, and ABC?

"You find yourself again when eating. When you eat, you cheer up, whether you like it or not.

"Then you fall again. But falling is not the same as failing. With each fall, your vision improves. You fail when you do not take a fall."

Swing

Qiu qian (秋千): thousand in autumn, oh swing.

Swinging back and forth, high above the millennial mountains and glaciers,

People and houses;

Or low, in between the legs and just barely above the toes.

Swinging, now this side, now that side,

There and there always, never here.

Absent is the gentleness of my grandfather's rocking chair.

The 20th Century Clogged My Toilet

The 20th century has become a kind of Costco for us. We go there for everything. Everywhere else we assume is dirtier, moldier, not as efficient, without looking. The 20th century is an important century, but foremost because it has prevented us, or at least me, from being able to see far and wide, beyond the windshield and my computer screen. Our century, the 21st, need not be a continuation of the previous century. In fact, time is a hungry rabbit. It jumps around, and lives in the woods somewhere. It goes on vacation during the winter, except when it ventures out on secret runs across the snowy plain.

The Proverbial Reversal of Fate

Putting one foot forward, you slipped, fell (rather dramatically), and found, in a dusty corner of the floor, the 100-yen coin you had always been looking for, without knowing.