Withered
Return now to what is true.
The simple clarity
of soil and sky.
The field of stones.
Time fades quickly.
Let impermanence dawn.
The origins and commonalities,
water and wind,
elements of forever
pelting the cliffs.
Calm and solemn
light shines upon the ruins.
The work of time.
The silence of motion
from earth to stars.
An end. A beginning.
(Translated by Betsy Strong)
Ithaca City of Asylum 