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In spring it is the dawn that is most beautiful.
“A person can learn all manner of things, no matter where he finds himself, provided his spirit is determined.”
Even if I had, I doubt it would have bothered her, perhaps it would just have contributed to the subtle accumulation of anger—the way a succession of smaller waves accumulate into one big wave—that rippled throughout everyday life in unexpected places. That’s just the way married life is, I suppose.
You’d think we’d be close, but it was precisely because we were close that we couldn’t reach each other.
Yet even when we were apart, Sensei never seemed far away. Sensei would always be Sensei. On a night like this, I knew he was out there somewhere.
“I suppose it wasn’t loneliness that I felt. Physical pain inspires the worst kind of helplessness.”
I suppose I just wasn’t able to ally myself with time.
And so it was that I found myself here.
The specter of death always loomed over us.
Certainly, it’s good to have a premise of love.
With Sensei, his benevolent nature seemed to originate from his sense of fair-mindedness. It wasn’t about being kind to me; rather, it was born from a teacherly attitude of being willing to listen to my opinion without prejudice. I found this considerably more wonderful than just being nice to me.
All living things were sincere, on the whole.
In loneliness I have drifted this long way, alone. My torn and shabby robe could not keep out the cold. And tonight the sky was so clear it made my heart ache all the more.
