Human Shadows,
Hiroshima

Sun on a flat rock
The business of a turtle
Is all a shell game

Fine gossamer braids
Spider web across the trail
Along the silk road

Clouds and mute cool air
Sweeping oceans of colors
Butterflies dancing

Vines flowers stems leaves
Fairy tale vegetation
Chokes the garden path

Standish Backus,
Garden at Hiroshima,
Autumn, 1946

Swelled raindrops collapse
Spattering over dense leaves
Wee lass skips plashed streams

Therapeutic rain
Showers away dust and grime
Leaving sins untouched