a traveler carries
what will make him
ready for the road
I saw two deer crossing a large field at a run. In the moonlight & at speed they move like some form of fur covered water creatures. I stopped to watch their run - in the light of the moon they looked as if they almost were not there but an afterthought of my eyes.
I don't like riding the state highways. Too much traffic traveling too fast, even at night though it's quieter then. I head for the nearest country road as soon as I leave the longhouse and there are plenty of these around here. I hung a right at the first road to T-bone with the state road. Almost immediately, at the bottom of a hill, a steel deck bridge crosses the river there. Have to be careful how you come on to this bridge riding a bike - you have to hit it straight on - no angles or you & your bike will go horizontal real quick. I usually stop on this bridge anyway to listen to the water in the river. You can look down through the open deckwork & see the river passing beneath your feet. The trees of the forest crowd close along the banks of the river - they make a sonic canyon of sorts and hold the sound of the river in. The sound of the river there holds me in also as I listen.
Beyond the river the road rises in steps as it passes into the forest. Then the view opens up with wide fields to either side - the land here has been farmed for generations and it's still going on though much reduced from former times.
In the moonlight all this appears no different than a dream.
moonlit fields
eyes of forest creatures, silent,
watch the single rider pass by
_________________________________________________________
With every pilgrimage one encounters the temporality of life. To die along the road is destiny. Or so I told myself. The Narrow Road to the Interior - Basho