The Ants and the Mushroom

by Kenji Miyazawa

translated by dunhamrc

Fog descended drippingly on a bed of moss, on which a sentry ant marched back and forth in front of a forest of large verdant ferns, scanning the area with his sharp eyes from beneath the visor of his steel helmet.

From the distance came a single ant soldier in a bouncing run.

"Stop! Who goes there?"

"Messenger from the one hundred and twenty-eight regiment!"

"Where are you going?"

"Fiftieth regiment regimental headquarters."

The soldier thrust his Snider rifle in a slant at the other's breast, and examined in detail, one by one, the way his eyes shone, and the shape of his chin, and then the pattern on his sleeves, and the condition of his shoes.

"All right, you may pass."

The messenger hurriedly entered into the midst of the fern forest.

The drops of fog were getting by degrees smaller and…

My in-his-twenties nephew in K-Town tested positive for Covid-19 about 16 days ago (still asymptomatic), after his roommate was sick the week before.

I had a soft tissue injury on the side of my thigh stumbling a landing a couple of Sundays ago and have had water on the leg to the tune of 9 or 10 lbs. extra at times. Had a little water on the knee a couple of times, decades ago; no big deal, wait it out. There was pooled blood behind the thigh at first but…

In six months I will be wanting a coat, a scarf and 

a blanket on a couch, warmed by you

Right now,  I'm wishing for fireflies

a thousand tiny flashing lights,

Their choreography will be uneven

as they move across the damp grass at dusk 

As kids we would chase and capture a few,

…