KAREN FINDS THE STONE OF THE DAY

Full of caves

and calligraphy

fitting the palm

of her hand

Jim Bodeen

5 August 2014

HOW THE STONES BECAME THE WAY WITH THE TREES

Coming to me in time,

across time, exploding,

and then the long wait,

a million, two million years,

waiting for a hand

descending into water

in the moment of recognition.

The first Ah,

my 50 years with Karen.

Palm lines read back in time.

The hand that took my hand

reaches into the river.

The stone evolving and devolving,

arrested. Submerged

beauty surfacing.

Blessed community blessing.

Grateful for all tipping hats.

A community of visionaries.

I carry your names

into the garden where each stone

is a star with your word.

A year of studying Japanese pines.

Oh, Pine Islands, Ah!,

in Sam Hamill’s Bashō,

and reading Bashō,

causes one to lower the eyes.

August 9, 1945,

my birthdate, also a call to remember.

All of this, all of you, part of the blessing.

Jim Bodeen

10 August 2014