Country Lullaby Poem by Suzanne Hayasaki

As I set off on a walk with my dog at dusk,
The clatter of her claws on the pavement sets a rhythm.
If I listen, I hear the crickets bringing in the strings.
Singing frogs lend support with their soprano chorus
And dairy cows clank restlessly in their milking stations.

This is what I know.
This is the way it always is.
This is so familiar I don’t hear it
Unless I make myself pay attention.

And when I do, I hear so much more:
The buzz of the wings of a stag beetle.
The erratic flutter of featherless wings.
The flap, flap, flap of a crane taking flight.

There is no one else out at this time of day.
There are only the gnats and mosquitos to drive away.
The water rushes in some places and trickles in others
Flooding the paddies and reflecting clouds and mountains.

My dog and I forget each other.
There is no tension in the leash.
There is no need to speak or obey.
There is simply a sympathetic peace.

A rustle in the leaves of the bamboo trees
Breaks our pace and must be investigated.
On some days there is a ferret or a raccoon
Once there was a wild boar rutting in a ditch.

This evening there is nothing we can see
But who knows what is peering out at us
From its hideaway in this patch of nature
As we pass by quietly on our way home.