"In Japan, cherry blossoms also symbolize clouds due to their nature of blooming en masse, besides being an enduring metaphor for the ephemeral nature of life."* This is what struck me about the cherry blossoms. Many people, if they did not know, might walk along the National Mall oblivious to the upcoming crescendo, the peek of cherry blossom season. They are breath-taking, but incredibly short-lived. They are gone just as quickly as they came.
In memory of the cherry blossom season, the recent tragedy in Boston and of all families who have recently lost friends or family members, including one of our own, Keith. This is for you.
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Along the tidal basin,
Rimmed soft with downy blooms
Like the collar of a fur coat,
Where once, bare limbs exposed their stark vulnerability,
Now laden with delicate transitory blooms,
The ethereal stands juxtaposed with the temporal.
Beneath the evanescent canopy,
Soft tunnels unfurl
Though which dappled light falls speckled
As phosphorescent gold
On shoulders of admirers,
Who pass along on the path.
These weathered limbs, their long arms dangling,
From the edges of the water,
Dip into the deep pools
Bowing in a unified armistice.
The serene spectacle, a monument to spring,
To hopeful peace--
A memoir of life,
And a reminder of fragility.
*Choy Lee, Khoon. Japan—between Myth and Reality. 1995, page 142.
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