Greenleaf Ave in Whittier is not a usual place for me to go but I was here today because a friend needed my support to go for a dental consultation with another friend. There were too many people in the waiting room for my comfort and so I decided to take a walk outside because the street. The place looks quaint, like a small town with unique mom and pop stores. Most of the architecture is in art deco style. It makes one feel as if one had mistakenly walked back into a gone by era.
There were no people on the street. Later found out, from the business signs, that most of the stores do not open for business till noon. The tree lined avenue provided shade for an invitation for a pleasant exploratory walk in the warm weather. The road was closed to traffic, perhaps due to Covid restrictions but laxed enough for outdoor dining. A dream-like tranquil setting.
1 幽徑路傍樹蔭請 A quiet path where roadside tree shade bids welcome,
2 午時未至商店靜 Noon is not here and the stores are quiet.
3 莫見行人逍遙夢 What a carefree dream ‘tis in not seeing any passerby,
4 紅塵獨步兩袖輕 Upon this world of red dust, my two sleeves billowing light.
4 “red dust” – Buddhist term for the mundane world. I am playing with the term, 兩袖清, “two sleeves clean”, meaning an upright official who never took any bribe. In the old days, sleeves were long and billowy. They were used like pockets to carry money and other small items. It is also a convenient way to keep prying eyes away as a transaction took place. If the sleeves are light... and therefore extended to mean “without worldly worries to be burdened with”. More importantly, I did not like that there are too many of the 青 radical to be used in my brush writing.
Tuesday, March 1, 2022
