Nakasendo Waypoints #104

 

 

                                         Northern winds

                                  Blow away the faint cries

                              Of the last insects of summer

 

On the turntable: Bob Dylan, "Dancing in the Dark"

Nakasendo Waypoints #103

All that ripens
Must eventually fall.
Deepening autumn.

On the turntable:  Elvis Presley, "The King of Rock 'n' Roll"
On the nighttable:  Mike Marquesee, "Chimes of Freedom: The Politics of Bob Dylan's Art"

Nakasendo Waypoints #102

Under wind-scoured skies, 

Summer masquerades 

As autumn.

On the turntable:  The Clash, "Tokyo, Japan, 1982-02-01"

Nakasendo Waypoints #101

A shifting of angles.
Heat, and the summer rains,
Exchange places.

On the turntable:  Descendents, "All"

Nakasendo Waypoints #100

Far from the madding crowd,
Between steadfast peaks and resolute water,
Into the future I go.

On the turntable:  Dizzy Gillespie, "The Cool World"

Nakasendo Waypoints #99

High to low.
Defying natural wisdom
As summer dawns.

On the turntable:  Dead Kennedys, "A Skateboard Party"
 

Nakasendo Waypoints #98

Maples uncurl
Their tiny fists
To catch the fluttering petals.

On the turntable:  Dead Can Dance, "Unreleased Tracks 1"

Nakasendo Waypoints #97

Across the Mino plain;
The liminality of seasons,
As expressed in color.

On the turntable:  Dale Watson, "Carryin' On"

Nakasendo Waypoints #96

Winds off Ibuki
Caress the face of water,
Before the planting is done.

On the turntable: Devo, "Pioneers who got Scalped"  

Nakasendo Waypoints #95

Takanami. (武並)
Rows of steadfast warriors
Replaced by cedars.

On the turntable:  Calexico, "Algiers"
On the nighttable:  William Wayne Farris, "Japan to 1600: A Social and Economic History"

Nakasendo Waypoints #94

New tracks in old snow.
There is no better way,
To close out February.

On the turntable:  Chet Baker, "Lullaby of the Leaves" 
On the nighttable: William E. Naff, "The Kiso Road: The Life and Times of Shimazaki Toson" 

Nakasendo Waypoints #93

Pieces of winter
Found strewn along
The valley floor.

 
On the turntable:  Charlie Parker, "Complete Savoy Live"
On the nighttable: Sumie Okada, "Edmund Blunden and Japan: The History of a Relationship"

Nakasendo Waypoints #92

Footsteps on the path
Echo resoundingly behind.
Back to work I go...

On the turntable:  Cornelius, "Point"
On the nighttable:  Knut Hamsun, "Wayfarers"

Nakasendo Waypoints #91

There is a step
Inside the step,
Along familiar paths.

On the turntable:  Babylon Circus, "Demo No. 1"

Nakasendo Waypoints #90

Red rivulets

Race like snakes toward 

A Kiso swelled by storm.

 

On the turntable:  Babes in Toyland, "Painkillers"

Nakasendo Waypoints #89

Before my eyes
The day ages
From blue to grey.

On the turntable:  Alamedas Riddle, "Granny Riddle's Songs and Ballads"

Nakasendo Waypoints #88

Somewhere beneath
All that fresh fallen snow
Lies today's haiku.

On the turntable: "Asian Groove"

Nakasendo Waypoints #87

Feet barely touch ground,
As I awake to a world
Soft around the edges

On the turntable:   "Acoustic Brazil"

Nakasendo Waypoints #86

Under their frayed woven scarf,
A pair of dosojin
Huddle against the cold.

On the turntable:  "AfroCubism"

Nakasendo Waypoints #85

Striving to attain
Views birthed in mist.
Sacred Ontake.

On the turntable: Bauhaus,  "1979-1983"
On the nighttable:  Ian Buruma, "Behind the Mask"