The Sunlight Reminds Me Who I Am

I don’t need more to be happy. A poem from Kobe, Japan.

The train pulls into Suma Station, Kobe, Japan. This pocket of existence, Despite life’s sundry complexities, Simplifies my spirit.

The sunlight Reminds me who I am. It fills the empty space with The warmth of my past — Where I’ve been: Docks of Naples; Honeyed Middle Eastern Passageways; California. My feet sink Into the damp sand, and I’m home.

I’m in a perpetual state of awe. My connections, friendships, foundation; My daily pursuits and adventures; The magic of the trivial. It’s a wondrous state in which to dwell. I don’t really know How it’s happened — I just haven’t stopped Asking, what do you love? Passed down through generations I don’t need much to be happy. I need rather little To feel like me, because it’s not just me It’s history, family, written words and heartfelt stories Running through my veins.

Sun kissed water Pale as the sky, Green mountains & Children’s laughter.

A swim, My bare feet upon Warm concrete — echoes of feeling, The essence of healing, Gleaming in the summer sun.

A group of boys jump from the dock, and One approaches me, smiling like an old friend. He sits as I lay their baking on the stone.

He’s from Bangladesh, a student in Japan. We chat and he leaves, and I imagine how many cool people there are out there, In India; in the pockets of the world my heart Has yet to know. Islands. Cities. Mountains. Deserts. Kids like him and me — anywhere — we’re All just trying to find our way.

We’re all the same in Beautiful ways. We’d later sit on the train, Heading back to Osaka. Where should I visit in India? I asked. A question with innumerable answers. Ceylon, he’d say.

Kids throw fishing lines with their dads And drive away on a moped. The smell of gasoline and the sun on my Skin and the salt in my hair and the sounds of splashing and Laughter; the glimmering water reflecting the sun, Setting beyond the craggy hills; Life can be simple. I guess before, I needed answers.

The sunlight reminds me who I am; I don’t need more to be happy.

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