A swarm of fighter jets whiz across the eastern skies
Trembling below
The city of wood and beauty
Serene gardens
Ten Thousand shrines
A life of millions
But then; disarmed and un-pickled
The planes just fly away
Was it the pilots
Was it the western cabinet
Was it the beauty of the gardens below
No one really knows!
Seventy years have gone since
Two big bombs fell elsewhere
Million lives lost to hatred
Cities burnt down to ashes
Urban Monsters have now taken their place
But down here
The temples stand tall against the cedar trees
The gardens are still tranquil and green
As an alien to this drowning civilization
I sit here by a temple pond
Beside me, carps swim and dance in a myriad of colors
As clear water ripples around their snouts and fins
The reflected sunlight shines and glitters
Standing in stoic silence
Stone lanterns and tea houses tell tales to one another as they relive the past glory
Another plane flies high now
A white streak is left behind as a trail
Slowly, like human history
As all the traces gently fade
The eastern sky is finally blue again
The clear blue skies
Just a few clouds floating by
The sun sets
The moon rises
The clouds too pass away
Sitting by the window
As life around me changes
The I in me wonders
Will I wake up to another day ?
The Autumn rain has stopped now
But not the drizzle and spray
Heavy with the rain drops
The flowers of the morning bow down and sway
Perched on the wet branches, fluffing their features, the little sparrows chip away
As clear water glides over the smoothed pebbles
Lost in this sparkling beauty
Sitting under the shade of the cherry tree
I wonder !
How can this be!
Just another day!
To the knowledgeable and wise
I am just a fool
To the religious
I am another confused soul
To the pious
I'm blasphemous and unholy
As I Wander in lands far and wide
Seeking nothing from within or without
The heretic says!
I'm just a mirror of your soul my friend!
Silent and tranquil
The rock stands still
As I walk this garden path
The gravel beneath speaks
The water trickles in prosody
The birds hum in tune
The pebbles shine as they reflect the filtered sunshine
Not very long ago
Wasn't this is the path of the patriarchs!
But then!
Does it matter now !
I'm just a man with nothing more to seek !
The summer sky is cloudless
The garden is fresh and green
On a stone bench by a bamboo hut
I sit here drinking tea
In a distant hill a trail of smoke rises
In the canal beside me water gently flows
People in the road chatter
Cars rush by
As the world moves on within this tea cup
What else is left to say !
Trees sway against the mossy landscape
Clear water ripples amongst the lotus flowers
Embraced by the comforting beauty
In this garden of tranquility
I sit here seeking to write poetry
Nearby, in a temple by the brook
A little boy rings an ancient bell
People come and go in reverence
As the mountain air reverberates with the lost silence
Deep within
Stillness remains !
The ancient cedar croaks with every step
The mountain behind stands tall
Thoughts and trees merge
Ideas vanish in silence
All seeking ends here
All findings cease
As the water fall sets the tune
And stillness plays as music
Nothing more can be said
As all is revealed in this very moment !
The garden is alive and green
stone lanterns and bamboo stand tall
Silent rocks and raked up gravel
As the water trickles in the stream
Deep within the stillness
The Lotus blossoms
Mossy landscape
Lush and green
Gravel pathways
Leading on
Not swept away in all beauty
Stillness still resides!
Shadows of the swaying leaves
Entangle in the waving ripples
Gently the cool wind blows
Thus awakened
The mind within ceases
Cities burnt down to ashes 
