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This poem and others are available in my book, Nothing Works: Meditations on Aikido, Buddhism, the Tao, Zen, and other inconsequential things.... Available thru Amazon and Barnes & Noble websites....Sorry for the plug, but I gottta fund my retirement... Try this link: www.nothing-works.com
A spangled sky
With a full moon
Honoring the night
Illuminating my
Shadow companion
And me as we
Absorb the glow
And discuss the nature
Of the sutras
And the character
Of falling leaves
I learn about the night
From the night
I learn about the moon
From the moon
While my shadow
And I reach an
Agreement on nothing
As the moon sets
Quietness slowly settles
And I hear
The roaring silence
It is hard to miss
The toll of the bells
Though I gotta admit
I tend to lose count
Does this mean my prior
Year's sins are not forgiven?
Best I can do is not
Choke on my mochi
After all that sake
And sweet amazake
The night before on
Omisoka - New Year's Eve
Still my first sunrise --
Hatsuhinode, should be
Something, as should be
Hatsugeiko -- my first
Aikido practice later that day
Traditionally, we usually toss
Each other 108 times, though I
Tend to lose count here too
Guess I'm destined to carry
My sins forward, as usual
A martial art
Without the annoying Martial part
Now there is an
Art that can
Be appreciated!
Still, it feels good
Not to call it
Just a dance
But, a martial art!
Love and harmony
Now that sounds splendid!
So, when the
Atemi comes
It comes as a surprise! Shit, was that
Supposed to happen?
It hurt, damnit! This martial aspect
Needs further review!
We all die
But soldiers die first
Intervening their bodies
Into harm's way
A conscious decision
Made freely
Rough men and women
Guarding the reaches
So that all others
Can sleep in peace
We all die
But soldiers die first
Failure not an option
Maintaining their duty
Their purpose
With their comrades
To keep the child safe
The child of Man
The child of civilization
The spark of freedom
We all die
But soldiers die first
(But sometimes...)
I wrote this poem the night before the tragedy in Conn. My focus was on our military safeguarding the outer borders of our country, including overseas duty, protecting our own, including our children. It just never occurred to me that such an incomprehensible thing could happen here at home, in America. The loss to the parents and families of all the victims is beyond me even to contemplate and fathom. Obviously, soldiers do not always die first, though I think that any one of them would do so to have prevented this. If there is any glimmer of light left here in all this blackness, let it provide some illumination and guidance.
You ever get
The idea
The thought
That most everyone
Doing aikido today
Sucks?! Bites?!
Just doing
Vampire Aikido!
Including yourself
Oh, sure, you see
An occasional "star"
But even them
In the Octagon?
On an actual battlefield?
Who knows?
Despite years of practice
And training
Slow choreographed kata
"Cooperative" ukes
And some attempts at
Martial realism...
But really....?
What is left?
Perhaps a little more
Applied aiki would help?
Or...?
Winter winds
Blow early this year
Some trees already
Scoured bare of leaves
Stark skeletons
Reaching for cold light
Geese fly overhead
In formation, confused
Deciding on a direction
Time and season
Come and go
When I enter
The dojo is chilled
The air not yet warmed
By flying bodies
And the swish, slap, thud
And grunt of earnest effort
My bare feet cramp
On the cold mat
Heralding, probably
More discomfort to come
Presaging each practice
Bringing to mind
My recurring question Why? Why am I here?
I think of my warm couch
Or, my hot latte (soon!)
But, here I am
Anxious to learn
What my body already knows
But has long forgotten
Lost, perhaps, long ago
On winter winds
01-27-2013 04:01 PM 
