Wednesday, July 05, 2006

TD4.5



There was nothing remarkable
About the day we got the pu-erh
Except maybe
The drumming of your heart
Your gentle breath

Not long before we asked for
Two pots steaming
(Yours china white; mine green)
Your fingers set bottle caps
Buzzing
Stroking the beaten spoons

(“They’re not spoons”
You had scolded me before
Laughing)
But still I made the mistake
Picking up Chigamba’s
Masterful M’bira

The one you brought
(A gift) with the others
In your pack
Where the music slept
Until you woke it

And it flowed
Through you

Knowing it was home

There was nothing remarkable
About the day we got the pu-erh
A few loose ounces
Purchased for a friend

Except of course
The reverence
You gave me
For the whiskered leaves
Old souls
Born of ancient trees
Set to ripen into wisdom
Over decades
In the dark caves of China

(It was so often this way)

What you knew
You offered
Like a kind monk would water
To a thirsty traveler
Exhausted by the world
Dusty from too much doing

(I loved to drink from the deep stores of your mind)

There was nothing remarkable
About the day we got the pu-erh
Except not knowing
How soon
These hours
Would empty
Like a teapot

Fragrant leaves still clinging to the sides



WTF »

2 comments:

Lolabola* said...

you know the reason I first ended up reading your blog was because I read a fabulous story on b166er´s blog about your friend tom and then spent a long time going through the website about him because he was obviously such an amazing person.

I have a few friends like that, one of whom I´m visiting right now and I can´t imagine losing them.

suttonhoo said...

(hold them close)

Related Posts with Thumbnails