At Sea
talking with Perschke on the fantail. I ask him
“What time do you go on lookout?”
—”When the sun sets. But I can’t tell tonight, it’s
… cloudy.”
—”In Japan in the Buddhist temples they ring the evening
… bell when it gets so dark you can’t see the lines in
… your hand while sitting in your room.”
—”Full length or up close?”
—”Full length I guess.”
—”Suppose you got a long arm. Maybe you’re late. Are the
… windows open?”
—”Don’t have any windows. The walls are open.”
—”Always?”
—”Sometimes they’re closed.”
—”Can’t always ring it at the right time, huh. What do
… they ring it for anyway?”
—”Wake people up.”
—”But that’s in the evening.”
—”They ring it in the morning too.”
by Gary Snyder
from Earth House Hold
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