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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.
The sword --
Considering its purpose
A blade of terrible beauty
Yes, but without the swordsman
It is just a piece of pretty metal
Inert, lifeless...
The sword itself is just one piece
One piece of a larger whole: Ki, ken, tai -- spirit, sword, body
A gestalt that makes simple metal,
Elegantly beautiful as it may be,
Dangerous
The mat was hard, thin
Underneath -- a concrete slab
No spring, no bounce
Proper form, correct technique
Were the only things that helped
Breathe out -- slam, slam, slam
Think light, think light...!
Even my hands got bruised
Fingers tingling each time
Each time I slapped that mat
Damn, good practice!
Thin places
Thin spaces
At times, at times
Thin times
When heaven and earth
The immaterial and material
Are so transparent
That the separation
Of the transcendental -
The mystical, and
The empirical and physical
Is banished
Where all the border spaces
Collapse…
And unity prevails
At the borderlands of solitude
Where we sometimes inhabit
Those thin places
That are all around us
If we but look and see and feel
When they see a flag
They have a gut reaction
Instinctive and strong
Knowing from direct experience
What that symbol means
And the sacrifices
Sometimes required
To keep it flying
They roll on wheelchairs
They limp on prosthetic legs
Their minds, well their minds
Could use some relief
Sometimes, though many
They are just fine, too
Bodies and minds intact
Nothing but strong memories
Whatever their condition
Coming home is a joy
But not always easy
Not everyone understands
And reintegration can be hard
But, as they was taught: Hard gets done
That's why they bear the title proudly - Veteran
www.nothing-works.com
Tuesday is Veterans Day, so please give a nod and a thanks to all our veterans out there.
There is a place
Where courage ends
And madness takes over
Sheer battle-madness
That counts survival
As the only goal
Savagery taking hold
And not letting go
Till you die, or
Your opponent dies
No quarter, no favor
Yet, within this hell
And terror lies joy!
Sitting in seiza
Sensei begins within silence
We practice making a good soup
www.nothing-works.com
In response to a question as to the meaning of Tsuke-Jiru, here is what I believe it means:
Tsuke-Jiru (zoo-kay -- gee-rue) -- A broth in which noodles and all sorts of foods are cooked. Making a good Tsuke-Jiru is the sign of a good cook; meaning that it takes time, discipline, and skill of a good teacher to instill knowledge and skill to students.
The silence of the moment
The silence of the now
Can be so loud, so deafening
It can be overwhelming
So, take some time
To embrace this silence
And let it embrace you
Settle into this embrace
Soon this silence will deepen
And be warm and comforting
And bring peace and open the mind
To new and different possibilities
Relax, no, relax more
More….no, not limp
See, here's rigid
Here's limp
Now, here's relaxed
Feel the difference?
Okay, play with this
For a few years So, I was told
So many years ago
And I'm still playing with it!