Gold Hill Seasons

Photos taken at the Botanical Gardens in San Francisco.





This is a guest post by Taylor Graham who writes a "paradigm," which incorporates several different Japanese forms. I have to admit I never knew about this style. Thank you so much Taylor.

GOLD HILL SEASONS

How does water know?
Spring is a mouth opening.

What does the earth say?
We carry our seeds of trees
and plant ourselves in new soil.

Crossing the dirt path,
a black bear steers by star-drift
and breeze off the hills.
What is hunger, what is home
to make the owl mourn?
River sluices yesterdays.

Her winter memories
are a silken pouch of words.
On the long-moon nights
what sharpens the heart’s small knife?
A dawn garden weeps with dew.

In spring the river
remembers its song from far
upcountry, held fast in snow.
Trees blossom out of their names,
we shed our cocoons.

The dark bird circles
a golden hilltop – its shade
crosses, passes. Gone.