That afternoon seeing

the small child play in the snow

watched over by his father,

I remembered I’d never seen a snowman

here.

In the fading winter light,

I went out to the same little plaza

and with a gloved hand

lifted three small lumps of snow,

delicately, each in one piece,

and placed them

one on top of the other

to make a tiny snowman,

something like a Jizo,

the roadside statues seen

in Japan to remember the souls

of dead children and the aborted.

Yuki no Jizo

Jizo of snow

It was Martin Luther King Day

in Martin Luther King Plaza

right beside the library.

January 19, 2010

revised December 25, 2010

“Jizo is an important bodhisattva, an incarnation of the Buddha that has voluntarily renounced Enlightenment in order to guide lesser beings through the realms of creation. Jizo is thought to take particular pity on the souls of dead children, who wander as lost souls (munebotoke) between the worlds. Jizo usually is depicted in the form of a bald Buddhist monk with simple features; at times dead children are shown climbing up him or seeking shelter from demons in his robes.”

from http://people.brandeis.edu/~es…

May this be a day of active peace and open hearts all over the world.

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