Trees wobble outside my window. Since I started working from home in March 2020, I’ve been noticing some creatures outside of my window…birds, squirrels, cats, and insects. One of the most active ones is Charlie, a squirrel. The 10 freeway is visible behind my apartment. Between my window and the freeway, there are a wooden fence and trees. Charlie runs on the 2-inch-width fence and jumps onto either my apartment wall or trees. In the beginning, I could see some hesitance before he jumped, but he was persistent. Every day, I saw him running up and down and jumping to the wall or the trees.
After 6 months, his movements became more dynamic and flawless. Sometimes he doesn’t stop on the fence. He starts from my apartment, kicks the fence, and jumps onto the tree! Now, the trees are swaying more wildly than before. Truly, his remarkable growth amazed me.
A few days ago, I was reading the storytellers’ bios on their website and noticed that Margaret was on the poetry train at one point. Although I neither write nor read poems, I got curious and started asking. Soon, our conversation developed to Haiku, which is the form of three lines. We talked about different types of short poems: Haiku, Senryu, and Tanka. That night, Margaret sent me a Haiku. A few hours later, she sent me a revised one. “Wow. The first one was already good. How could she top that?” I thought. But she didn’t end there. She continued to revise it again, again, and again. And her Haiku got better each time.
Looking at Charlie’s and Margaret’s persistence, I wonder what if I make one more jump for things that I don’t think I can fly higher for. Who knows? I may sway trees, too!
The night grows chill.
Rain, clothed in starlight, splashes down…
kisses Earth’s parched lips.