for the comfort of newborn green,
but underneath the leafless cherry blossom tree
there are bowls of tea for the ones who aren't here.
In warmer times
I first learned how a splash of water
can lift a scent high enough to soothe a spirit.
I'd almost forgotten
those earliest days
of fumbling unfamiliarity
and how quietly something can change
from part of the background
to something inviting
deeper consideration.
There is a hidden path here.
I discovered it by going around
the obvious delights,
of the stone lanterns, the pond, and the maples,
to a dark and overgrown thicket of bamboo.
Today,
I make sure to pay my respects
there, remembering the first time
curiosity drew me.
I greet the gods I find here.
This time I understand the reason
for smiles and tears.
I cup my hands around
the memories that brought me here
warmed by today's tea
under the leafless tree
and give thanks.
How lucky I was.
How lucky I am.
Photo by Hiroshi Tsubono on Unsplash
Song Choice: Everything Stays from Adventure Time
Liner Notes For This Groove: If you came around via Poets and Storytellers United, feel free to skip this part because it's a lot longer than 369 words. Though I am elaborating a bit on the prompt I gave this week, "looking back".
So for the last couple of weeks I've been looking over all my old blog posts. It's been an interesting experience, not just in showing me ways I've changed as a writer. There are a lot of other changes too. Last September, we lost my mom-in-law. She was the bedrock of my husband's side of the family and navigating a post-Ellen world is just plain odd (when it isn't deeply sad).
Tea with Mom Driks
I don't think I mentioned it on this blog, but we also welcomed another corgi into our family, Jelly Bean. Like my dearly departed Kit, she's a rescue. But she's *ahem* a lot more complicated than he was. I think we've finally got her used to the idea that this is her forever home (but she still thinks the ceiling fan is out to get her).
Don't let that cute face fool you.
She's bossy and anxious.
I quipped on PS&U about the change in my all-time favorite book series. But in a lot of ways that change really does represent a lot of the ways I've changed. I was unaware about lot of things. I'd even say that I was a bit naive. Sure, I still love a generous dose of whimsy and magic. But these days, I relate better to sharply satirical (and hilarious) whimsy that isn't afraid to take a hard look at some of the biggest ways our world is broken. (That the author doesn't appear to be a massive jerk is a bonus too.) There's something to be said for whimsy as an act of defiance.
You will not break me
from Dungeon Crawler Carl
by Matt Dinniman
I think in most ways, I've become more solid in who I've always been. So what seem like changes on the outside feel more like coming home to myself.
One thing that absolutely hasn't changed is my love of tea. This piece was inspired by a recent trip to Shofuso, the Japanese house and garden in Philly. I actually haven't practiced tea there in ages. Of course, I've been practicing tea, but my tea teacher had the space to build a traditional Japanese tea room in her house. When changes occurred that limited our use of the rooms in Shofuso, the students of Philadelphia Urasenke just went to their tea teacher's homes instead (we have multiple teachers, all with their own tea rooms).
The reason for my visit was a bittersweet one. There was a memorial to honor the passing of two senior members of our tea school as well as the passing of Hounsai Hanso Soshitsu, the 15th generation Grand Tea Master of the Urasenke School. I never met the Grand Master, but Keijiroh and Terry were always very warm and kind people, thrilled to share their love of tea. Terry was the one who convinced me to step up and do public demonstrations. I'll be thinking of her at this year's Cherry Blossom festival, when I'll be doing a string of demos all day long.
Here are a few pictures of my visit:
