Fingers in the Topsoil


MAKING TOPSOIL FOR NEWLY PLANTED BONSAI TREES

Wet long-fibered natural moss
place strategically around trunk
of tree, holds moisture, establishes
the system for what comes next
Its relationship with pumice
and lava rock instant  Wet
fibers of the Sphagnum
lay around the tree
like tiny branches not
unlike a skeleton sweat lodge
Now the screened mosses
will fall from your fingers
into pockets beside the soil mix
This part fingers from moss
to soil cushions, sensuous, spongy

Jim Bodeen
28 April 2017

                                                                                           

BENEATH SPARKLING STAR RIVER

Clouds in western sky
drop rain as I settle, begin
freeing the Shimpaku Juniper
from black plastic root trainer,
preparing to cut roots young
before placing it in the shallow
unglazed clay pot. Securing

the tree on lava rock
with wire and chop sticks
followed with a mix of pumice,
red lava and akadama from Japan
is the horticulturist's art.
A thin layer of top soil,
1/8 inch deep, ground
from dense matted moss
on Chinook Pass, one cell thick,
and sphagnum collected from bogs
for water management.
Millions of naked spoors.
Rain drips from my hat
unexpectedly in this desert valley
in this outdoor sanctuary,
this studio refuge
where I sit between
Columnar Hornbeam
and Ed Wood Half-Moon Maple.

Jim Bodeen

26 April 2017


SCRATCHING THE SURFACE STONE

Have I sat for hours
Insight come and bees buzz gone
Incessantly still

Jim Bodeen
3-6 May 2017

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