The Path to Here

by Michael Dylan Welch

First published in Solitary Plover #25, Winter 2017, page 4. Originally written on 27 July 2010 at the Seattle Japanese Garden in Seattle, Washington.

water striders

ripple the reflection

of turtle island

I try to guess the age

of the stone lantern

the toddler’s exclamation

from the moonviewing platform—

hungry koi

mid summer—

bending closer to the garden

for each new scent

the tea house almost lost

in the Japanese maples

sandaled feet

crunching on gravel—

the path to here