I asked a seed,
“How do you know when spring arrives?”
When my paintbrush first dips into green,
I know spring is about to come.
I asked a stream,
“How do you know where you’re flowing?”
When I look at my tail,
I know where my end will be.
“But I’ve forgotten where my paintbrush is,” the seed said.
“Can you help me find it?”
“Of course!”
So I buried the seed in the soil of the yard.
“Sometimes it’s so big I dare not look straight at it!” the stream exclaimed.
“Do you know why sometimes I can’t see my tail clearly?”
“Let me think…”
It might be the tail end of countless tiny streams.