my Lenten coffee—
 
drinking it with great pleasure
 
and dollops of guilt

 
 
 

O cherry blossoms,
 
your fragrance guides my footsteps
 
in the pilgrim way.

 
 
 

The gardener weeps:
 
“I’ve never seen a blossom
 
lovelier than this.”

 
 
 

All night long rain fell,
 
weeds and flowers drank each drop—
 
still, they thirst for more.

 
 
 

Spring rain fell all night,
 
singing to the wilderness,
 
“Let there be blossoms!”

 
 
 

A labyrinth walk
 
on a third-month afternoon—
 
look, a red-tailed hawk!

 
 
 

First bad dream of spring—
 
my bank account is plundered
 
by an online thief.

 
 
 

Night of the new moon—
 
“Tell me a ghost story, Dad,”
 
a little boy begs.

 
 
 

Little brown sparrow,
 
you sing the first spring anthem
 
in your repertoire.

 
 
 

Waning crescent moon—
 
I need a thicker jacket
 
to ward off the chill.