Aug 9, 2007

Tea Ceremony for One

In preparation for one meeting in a lifetime,
I swept and dusted the tea room,
unrolled the scroll to hang.
I set the kettle to boil,
scooped tea powder into the container,
rinsed the tea bowl clean.
I filled the cold water jar,
carefully wiped the tea scoop
and arranged a single flower.

When the kettle
began to sing its lament,
I made you a bowl of tea
though you were not there to drink it.
I heard your step
whispering across the tatami,
glimpsed a shadow of your kimono
in the swirls of steam.

I inhaled the fragrance of plum
on a cold winter day
and sat listening to the wind in the pines.

The tea tasted so bitter that day.

4 comments:

  1. SweetP - your blog is lovely; so serene and calming.

    Sue.x

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sue,

    Thank you for coming to visit and taking the the time to comment.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is such a beautiful entry. So sweet & sad and sad & joyful.

    Judith

    ReplyDelete
  4. Judith,
    This was written for my sensei who passed away three years ago. For her memorial service.

    ReplyDelete