walls crumbling, tin rooftops and peeling yellow paint
nothing is kept up. the place looks the same as it did 300 years ago
the people around here are just rice farmers, vegetable sellers
in a dusty old town
worthless
but 30 years ago, after a devastating war
people with money came + said it's romantic!
they started to come from all over the world
to snap lots of pictures
walk around this dusty old town
+ relive a 300-year old forgotten fantasy
suddenly, this place has worth
3 kilometers from the town
is an old tomb
of Yajirobei
a Japanese merchant
an exiled Christian?
or here to chase a lover who spurned him?
nobody knows for sure
the inscription in japanese says: the year 1647
for 3 centuries, farmers planted rice around this mound
+ cursed it for being there, nothing but an eyesore
worthless
but 15 years ago, the city cleaned it up
built a concrete path to it
people come to worship
thinking it would bring them luck
a dried up rose lays nearby
half-burnt incense lays in a cup
suddenly, this tomb has worth
so here i am, by Yajirobei's tomb
i'm 29. someday i'm going to die
+ i'll have a tomb too
i wonder
when my money's used up
accomplishments forgotten
nobody remembers who i am, to lay flowers on my tomb
what will give my life worth?
