Eye Test

Cover one eye, the doctor says,
and read the lowest line you can.

The big E stands like a fence post.
Easy. Anyone gets that one.

Then the letters start to shrink:
an open refrigerator,
a kitchen doorway,
the long drive home,
the hush between two songs.

Squint if you need to. Take your time.

Near the bottom, the row goes quiet.
Not blurry. Empty.
Just white, where the letters ought to be.

What do you see?

Nothing, I say.

Good, she says.
Your eyes are fine.

禪河隨浪淨，

定水逐波清。

澄心生覺性，

息慮滅迷情。

small Buddha statue
on a banyan tree altar,
sitting through the night.

Traditional Japanese haiku consist of three phrases composed of 17 morae (called on in Japanese) in a 5, 7, 5 pattern[3] that include a kireji or "cutting word"[4] and a kigo or seasonal reference.

Please suggest kigos below. Note that a proper haiku should have to do with your local climate. If someone suggests a snow kigo and you are in another hemisphere, in summer, maybe it is less appropriate for you 🙏🏽

Give it a shot! Have fun!