Lost & Found

Osaka • 2003 • #4

01 • Waka


the crowd pushes me
out of my own head,
faces turn away
from my existence,
waves pulled by the moon.


02 • Gogyohka Trio


i walk alone
for miles today
with no umbrella
to feel the world
as it truly is.
-
rain restores
equilibrium
as it strikes
my bare skin
and runs down.
-
shivering
with drenched clothes
in the theater
i sit and soak
in their stares.


03 • Senryu


you are like Jesus
realizing the whole world—
her shy eyes widen


04 • Boketto


darkness beneath the station
turns to rivulets of light
drawing me like a riptide
to the current
of the evening train.

cicadas in unison
accompany the psalmist
in his song.

¹

²

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Photo by Geetanjal Khanna on Unsplash

Image © 2024 by Mark Rico

1. #3 is a quote from one of my students when she learned that I liked rain and wind because they made me feel more alive. Truth is, I needed the rain and wind because I needed something tangible to bring strength to my roots. Living in Japan was almost an out-of-body experience at times, with little that felt “real” according to my past perception of reality in our Western mode of living.

2. My daily habit was to read Psalms and Proverbs on the train. I wrote at the time: “it:s terribly interesting to me how necessary reading and praying have become now that i have no real fellowship.  it:s been just about a month now, and all i have is email … i don:t approach the Word with the "idea" that i:m going to read it.  rather, it:s a thirst for it, almost a physical longing for the nourishment that i know it holds for me.”