it is a saturday morning in mid july
the weather is sublime
the mountains up close and personal
whimsical cirrus clouds
stretch across a deep blue background
today i am dining with the devil
we sit inside a steel and glass death machine
trapped in a long queue of other steel and glass boxes
all attempting unsuccessfully
to escape the greedy clutches of seoul
but undeterred by the interminably slow progress
we head patiently south-west
along the cruelly misnamed seohaean expressway
passing rice fields
and forested hills
of over-saturated green
stunning fleecy cloud sky canvases
finally we escape the motorway
for the minor roads
and after several wrong turnings
we are walking up a rocky path to gaesimsa temple
cushioned with soft fallen pine needles
a narrow wooden beam carries us
across a pond stocked with carp
at the top of a flight of stone steps
we find a temple courtyard
enclosed by hansel and gretel curved wooden buildings
in the centre of the clearing
a mediaeval multi-tiered stone pagoda
is silhouetted against a magnificent azure sky
dappled with grey-white cloudlets
a few footsteps from the courtyard
in a tiny side temple
an exotic red carpet spreads
across the solid wooden floor
before a prayer mat, a gong and a jug
the gold boddhisatva gazes serenely over my head
out through the open door
and away over the mountains
his thumbs clasped to his middle fingers
in mediatation pose
who knows what state of consciousness he has reached...
it is six am on a sunday morning
i stand alone
atop the stone fortress wall of haemi-up
watching the sun rise over the hillside
while my travel companions sleep on in our motel
swallows skim
dragonflies hover
butterflies flit
i stand in the sunlight
then circumnavigate the wall
scatting along to demo tracks
uploaded onto my mp3
we hit the road again
unimpeded by traffic this time
bound for the tranquil valley of sorunsan
mrs f and i go for a short hike
leaving h to cat-nap with our weekend chauffeur
a steady climb up a rocky path
leads us to nakjodae
a rocky granite outcrop just made for scrambling
from this vantage point
south korea stretches away in every direction
in all its glory
the glinting sea to the west
the timeless peaks all around
on the way back
we hold hands
talk of future plans
drink delicious sweet raspberry juice
this day will not come again...
No comments:
Post a Comment