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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.
A small golden boy
Crouching under the shade
Of a large Joshua tree
His Razor scooter
Abandoned casually beside him
On the sand
A hot, harsh sun hammering
Down on the aikidoka
Practicing before the boy
On a large concrete court
A small, low fountain
Opposite the Joshua tree
Rolling desert all around
As the aikidoka practice
The 36 jyo basics Kesa, tsuki, shomen-uchi
With some Sancho one
Thrown in to further confuse
Gis and hakamas moving
And flowing in the hot air Shihan and shidoin
Watching and correcting
Bravely hiding their sorrow
As they watch us perform
Hats, sunglasses, sun screen
Not the usual attire
The sun and heat beating down
Sweat evaporating quickly
In the dry desert air
I wonder what the boy sees
As we strive for perfection
Achieving instead hot skin
Dry throats, stiff muscles, and
Occasionally, slammed hands and fingers
As we steadily narrow
That performance window
Closing in on the kill-strike
Risking injury and bruised egos
Perhaps this is true misogi
Moving and doing with intent
And focused minds
Honing the six elements
The five senses and the mind
Asking the desert kami
To wash away our sins
As we try to bring our
Bodies, spirits and centers
Into unification
05-24-2012 01:48 PM 
