Communion
Under the cherry
Blooms there is no one who is
An utter stranger.
~ Issa, Englished by Phillip Whidden
Some circumstances turn us all to friends
Or bring us closer than stray strangers set
Apart. The pinkness arching over tends
To lift us from the pathways. Blossoms whet
Our appetite for saintliness and love,
Agapé in the Buddha’s mind or Christ.
Ineffable the sunlight up above
Makes gazing strangers want a glancing tryst
At least with fellow worshipers, their eyes
And drinking hearts. This cool love does not need
A nearness, like kimonos wrapped. Spring skies
Will bring us close enough. The blossoms are agreed.
We walk beneath the arches of the flowers.
The pinkness will unite with dying showers.
~ Phillip Whidden