Vanitas

Below are the remains of the last flowers I had from Fumi Kimura as an offering for my mate's Buddhist altar. I chopped them up before putting them in the compost bucket. The reason I came to know Fumi was that every week I needed fresh flowers for Buddha and hers were always the freshest. For thirteen years I purchased them from her. For the last five years I received them as partial payment for my labor.




Now that I no longer sell flowers at the Farmers' Markets for Fumi Kimura, I'm working for her friends and mine, the Yerenas of Watsonville. Apolinar and Sylvia have been selling their organically grown berries, beans and zucchinis at these fresh produce markets for the last twenty five years. Fumi watched their children grow from infancy to full maturity. Their son, Ricki, was with her when she died. My friendship with these folk is one more thing I have Fumi to thank for. Though I no longer get "free" flowers, I now get berries and other produce without cash changing hands for them.





“Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher;
“Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”
What does man gain from all his labor,
in which he labors under the sun?
One generation goes,
and another generation comes;
but the earth remains forever.
The sun also rises,
and the sun goes down,
and hurries to its place where it rises.
The wind goes toward the south,
and turns around to the north.
It turns around continually as it goes,
and the wind returns again to its courses.
All the rivers run into the sea,
yet the sea is not full.
To the place where the rivers flow,
there they flow again.
All things are full of weariness beyond uttering.
The eye is not satisfied with seeing,
nor the ear filled with hearing.
That which has been is that which shall be;
and that which has been done is that which shall be done:
and there is no new thing under the sun.
Is there a thing of which it may be said,
“Behold, this is new?”
It has been long ago, in the ages which were before us.
There is no memory of the former;
neither shall there be any memory of the latter that are to come,
among those that shall come after.