Wandering Spirit - Tochuu de Mouichido (On The Way Again)

Tochuu de Mouichido

I said my goodbyes to Yori and Yamato and promised them to come back. They had taken care of me and we were friends forever.

my promise
to return to them
like the sunrise

© Yozakura

Yori and Yamato walked with me to the outside of the village, there were the country side started. We embraced each other.
"Friends forever, we will see each other again somewhere on the path of life", said Yori. I felt his tears on my cheeks. His tears mingled with mine and felt like drops of rain on the sandy road and became one with the earth. Yamato's tears followed.
"One forever", he whispered.
Than I took the road not looking back. I waved without watching. Alone again but with a heart full of love. "We will meet again my friends", I whispered.

tears
will evaporate in time
like the dew

© Yozakura

I was on my way, clothed like a monk walking barefooted my staff in hand, to Kobe, to become a monk of the Taisan Ji Temple as was my former goal before I met Yori and Yamato in their lodging house.

My journey brought me and my once to become haikai master Tosei closer to each other. At the end of the day I found an old shed were I could spent the night. In the back of the shed I found a well and the bucket to pull up the water was still there. I unclothed and washed my body. The cold water felt great on my naked body. I felt free and right at that moment I saw a shooting star. I whispered a wish. A smile on my face.

cold water cleanses
my mind becomes free again
a shooting star

© Yozakura

After a hot cup of soup and a black piece of bread I sat down on my sleeping mat. Through the torn apart paper window I saw the moon. I heard the voices of nature, the wind , the rustling of the leaves and ... there it was the fragile and beautiful song of a Nightingale. It comforted me, but it made me also a bit melancholic.
After a while I decided to go to sleep. I dreamed about my mom and dad. They hugged me. "You will become a great poet my son", my mom said and my dad nodded. "Follow your dream Yozakura", he said. Than, after my parents vanished in a wonderfull light, I saw Hoshina. He smiled at me and kissed me. In an eye-blink we laid on a bed of roses and made love. I felt tears as he disappeared. "I will always love you Yozakura. Follow your dream become like Tosei ... now called Basho". Than I saw a small hut surrounded by Basho trees, banana trees and a young, gorgeous, man. He smiled at me: "You will find me Yozakura, but you have to return to Edo". With a shock I woke up. "What .. what ..."
As I recovered from the shock I saw that the sun was already high up in the sky. "How long did I sleep?" I thought.
I washed myself and picked up my belongings and took the road. The dream I had played again and again in my head. I cherised this dream and will never forget it. "I have to back to Edo", I whispered.

follow that dream
butterflies dance in the sun
without anxiety

© Yozakura

to be continued