She cleans up this site;
weeping, she finds toys
her children had mislaid among thorns
and stones, moss-covered now
Here
in 2013 the impending demise of the fir tree has become quite evident.
It had shaded the hut as a playhouse and a writer's cabin, as well as
numerous picnics. In the 1990s, children played
round this structure and inevitably lost some things;
plastic toys last a long time but moss may hide them for awhile, waiting to be rediscovered like archeological treasures.
...retiring to my hut I accept white hair
but sigh that today and the years gone by
are mindless like the rivers flowing east
-- Han Shan (Cold Mountain, tr. Red Pine)