Monday, May 11, 2009

Sakura

a young woman in her prime
full lips and bosoms -almost too beautiful to touch
for fear her delicate nature wither
even a thought could stir this motion beyond what it is

a moment in time
with the blink of an eye

she's gone

sakura

Sakura Blessings

The arrival of sakura (cherry blossoms) is a national celebration in Japan. Newscasts follow the blooming of the sakura trees which begin in mid-January in southern Japan (Okinawa).

It was Tokyo's turn in April. I was lucky enough to be there at that time strolling in a park while listening to the laughter of university students as they picnicked under the white and pink floral boughs. These picnics are an annual event enjoyed by all ages.

The sakura not only canopy picnics, the flowers are used to make sake and sweets...their precious petals can even be found in rice balls (onigiri).
Songs and poetry are sung, read, and written some more about the cherry blossoms.
A word used to describe the love for the sakura is "hakanasa" which loosely means - the feeling you have about the beauty of things that don't last forever.

Well, the sakura have finally blessed us in Hokkaido. Just in time for Mother's Day.

On a drive in the country today I couldn't help but smile with delight every time I spotted one of these wonders.

Around the bend, in the middle of nowhere...was the largest blossoming cherry tree I have ever seen.... or climbed for that matter.

t