the days of neko machi 猫町 @thedaysofnekomachi - Tumblr Blog

a few pages from my zine, Hanami

#zine #japan #japanese #art #drawing #portrait #sakura #hanami #cherry blossom #flowers #tokyo #writing #my writing

Sometimes in Vancouver I’ll think I hear people speaking in Japanese,

Just snippets of words, phrases, or intonations that sound familiar,

As if seeing a glimpse of an ex-lover, or someone who looks like them,

In the window of a cafe across the street,

Riding past on a bike,

Turning a corner.

When I arrived to Shiga, it was the end of September, almost exactly 2 years ago from today. The oppressive heat and humidity of Japanese summer was beginning to subside, replaced by cool, clear days, the leaves of the maples beginning to turn to their many shades of reds and oranges, so many more shades than I’d ever known leaves could turn. On Saturdays I would take the 45-minute train ride to Kyoto for a Japanese class, and spend the rest of the day wandering the city, to temples and parks, museums and cafes, sitting alone with a warm canned coffee on the edge of the Kamo Gawa. Since I’ve moved in late summer every year in my recent past, early fall has always been a strange, transitional time for me. The weather changing as I explore my new city, alone and introspective, having not met many people yet, my mind occasionally lingering back to wherever I’d been living the previous year. I like listening to Yo La Tengo in the fall, and when “I Feel Like Going Home” came on shuffle today, I remembered that first fall in Shiga, listening to it on repeat on that train ride. He calls me to the ocean Takes me wandering through the street A restless imagination But for now I move my feet on the ground Cause I feel like going home I can float above the ceiling I like drifting through the air I tend to lose my concentration But right now the clouds don't appeal too much I feel like going home Sometimes late at night while running from the rain Running from the voices filling up my brain Now I wish they'd leave me alone And let me be, to go off on my own Let me be to go home I feel like going home

#personal #writing