Japan...

far from the neon noise and the machinery of men.
mountains rise. forests swallow the road.
air changes out here, clean, pure, quiet.
ancient breathing between the trees.
a path appears. just there.
stone steps carved by hands long turned to dust.
I climb. one step. another. a thousand..
ancient statues watch the trail. moss-covered faces.
buddhas. guardians. forgotten gods.
trees stretch toward the sky.
torii gates. old temples hiding between the trunks.
wind moving through the branches like whispers.
I climb. the world below disappears.
it opens.
a temple clinging to the side of the mountain.
impossible and perfect.
I sit. silence.
wind through the trees. mountain breathing.
something taps my shoulder. buddha... the wind... the mountain saying hello.
I'm not alone.
today...
- josh