And the leaves that are yellow turn to red

And the leaves that are yellow turn to red, a photo by kasa51 on Flickr.

When I look at your photo of the beautiful leaves, I remember the leaves of three Japanese autumns long ago. I have often asked myself why I left Japan, but I had no choice, my tour was over and it was time to board an old Liberty ship for my journey across the Pacific to my homeland.

The crossing took ten days and gave me time to reflect on how my life had changed during the years I had spent in the Kanagawa prefecture, an area very much akin to my state of Missouri. The ship sailed beneath the Golden Gate and into San Francisco Bay on my 22nd birthday. It was good to be home again, but there was so much I missed about Japan.

Yes, the leaves of Missouri also change colors in the Autumn, but there is something different about the leaves of Japan that reminds me my youth, a youth spent in Japan. Youth flees as quickly as the leaves change colors no matter where we happen to be.
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And the leaves that are... by kasa51