The palm at the end of the mind, beyond the last thought, rises in the bronze distance. A gold feathered bird sings in the palm, without human meaning, without human feeling, a foreign song. You know then that it is not the reason that makes us happy or unhappy. The bird sings. Its feathers shine. The palm stands on the edge of space. The wind moves slowly in the branches. The bird's fire-fangled feathers dangle down.
Saturday, August 1, 2020
* * *
Is that the same moon?
Is this the same old spring time,
the same ancient spring?
And is this not my body,
the same body you once knew?
--Ariwara no Narihira (825-880) translated by Sam Hamill
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