Saturday, April 15, 2017

I See Clearly

I See Clearly

An overcast fall Saturday
on the train, I ride to Tokyo,
and alight at Ochanomisu station. This
area, famed for its book shops, is a heart
of old Edo. Students, scholars and casual
readers crowd the streets, stores and stalls.
Shops of glass and chrome sit beside those
of traditional wood with open fronts.
Coffee shops and noodle stands,
with enticing aromas, offer
respite for the fatigued.
I see it as if yesterday.

A dusty spring evening in the mountain
city of Sanaa, I walk from my flat in the
Old Town to the street of shops.
Eateries with foul, a cheap, nourishing bean stew,
others with pricey chicken and other delicacies
and street stalls with murtabak, a savory omelet,
line the streets.
I stop for a cup of bitter coffee Yemeni
at the plain open-air tea garden that
sits across from the plush European hotel
with its first class restaurant and café.
I see it as if yesterday.

A mild summer morning on my bike,
I pedal to the Sound. The raging surf
crashes on the rocks near Menauhant Road.
The placid Bourne Pond, ten meters away,
counterpoints the loud, wild, white waves
coming in from a storm out to sea.
Along the wayside grows luscious wild fruit.
I covertly munch the sweet blackberries.
I see it as if yesterday.



Foul




murtabak - with street vendor



2 comments:

  1. So nostalgic in feeling,all the sights and sounds you let us readers see and feel through you! The photos are well composed and chosen to enhance your experiences in us

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  2. It's wondrous that you wove 3 similar strands of your life experiences into a softly glowing and warm tapestry to cheer us all. The nostalgia of the scenes, smells, tastes and touch at the used bookstores at Kanda Jimbicho near Ochanomizu station, rouse vivid memories of our Tokyo days of weekend little adventures that in the end are so simikar with those of Sanaa and Falmouth.

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