The Monastery in Koyasan
Pillows filled with rice husks like sacks of gravel. Sock feet on the tatami we sleep on. Slippers for the hallway. Another pair only for the bathroom. Breakfast that looks like lunch: clear soup, steaming rice, square of fresh tofu. Easy to imagine a different life starts today. No one else knows exactly where we are. But then wandering into town we find a shop that serves black sesame ice cream so strong it tastes like peanut butter. And weighing down our pockets: our passports, rail passes, the still unfamiliar coins and bills.
In our dream band, on sarrusophone:
Matthew Thorburn’s latest book is String, published by Louisiana State University Press. His previous books include The Grace of Distance, a finalist for the Paterson Poetry Prize, and Dear Almost, which received the Lascaux Prize. He lives in New Jersey.
Ran Off With the Star Bassoon 