Green, Mossy Wall
I remember this flash of imagery when I thought about how it could be, living in Japan. I had decided this in my Crown Heights apartment, in a rather dismal living condition, and my last New York apartment.
It was a flash of green, wet, and mossy dew- a slimey dark green, something dark. Like the kind of residue that you see on a hidden wall in a back alley in Japan. Something that is growing in the urban environment, uncleaned and moist, damp, and left to multiply in the summer humidity.
At times in my first year here, I understood this flash of imagery. It was so dark, and left unseen, a quiet kind of trauma, a scene and imagery that I think perfectly depicts the real Japan. Raw, unedited, and hidden away out of plain sight.
I remember this scene from time to time- and I had some foresight before leaving Brooklyn. I was afraid of an unknown future, afraid of where I might end up.
Most people do not move to Japan at the age of 33. But then again, I am not most people.
I continue to develop here, spiritually, and I’m not afraid to look at that green, mossy wall in the back alley.
I felt compelled to escape the US and now I must live, and understand that green mossy wall.