At noon after the rain, lotus ponds in the park have large, lush, round leaves open at the ends of the stems that stretched from the surface of the water. A single flower is stretching the stem from between the leaves, and opening a bright pink petal. The surrounding flowers are still closed. That’s right. Lotus usually open flowers in the morning and close at noon. The lotus flower has a lifespan of four days, so on the fourth day it continues to bloom even after noon and is scattered in the evening. I feel sad when I think about that. In the middle of the leaf in front of the flower, pure water like honeydew was collected.

雨上がりのお昼時、公園の蓮池には蓮が水面からすーっと伸びた茎の先に青々とした大きな丸い葉を開かせています。その葉の間から一輪の花がさらに茎を伸ばし明るいピンク色の花を咲かせています。周りの花はもう閉じたままです。そうです。蓮は朝に花を開き昼頃には閉じてしまうのが普通です。蓮の花の寿命は四日間で、四日目にはこうして昼を過ぎても咲き続け、夕方には散ってしまうのです。そんな事を思うと悲しくなりますね。花の前の葉っぱの真ん中に甘露の様な清らかな水が溜まっていました。