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This poem and others are available in my books, Nothing Works: Meditations on Aikido, Buddhism, the Tao, Zen, and other inconsequential things....and, Nothing Special, and Nothing Matters..., available thru Amazon.com, in print and Kindle editions and Barnes & Noble websites.....Also available as an e-book via Smashwords.com. Try this link: www.nothing-works.com for the full array of options.
I bowed
As I entered the dojo An act symbolizing
The divide between
The physical world
And the spiritual world
Our dojo has a scroll
Describing the dojo
As a sacred space
Where training in the art
Was to be given the respect
It deserved -- and fear, too
A good fear, giving caution
And respect to our partners
And to the techniques practiced
And the weapons used
And to the training hall
That housed all our spirits
A small, red-gold leaf
Rested in the tokonoma A symbol of the season
And of the transience
Of the moment and our lives
A good reminder, if one were needed
Even the three notes
Struck to begin class
Echoed and disappeared
Entering back into silence
A quiet we all embraced
Even as we attacked each other
02-08-2015 05:27 PM 
