the sun under water
swims
slowly—like a school of sleepy mullet fish
light shifting and shimmering
and onto the sandy seabed
scribes
an ancient script
i trace these curvilinear lines carefully
with fingertips and a quickly beating heart
as this underwater scroll
~~quivering and pulsing~~
comes alive
its sacred poetry of light
is singing
is breathing into my soul
the song
of
the
sun
here i am
or so it seems
on this rocky sea bed
strange fish swimming by stare
impolitely
at me
i would like to, crablike, crawl
deep into hidden crevices
and seek counsel
from the wise octopi
Honorable Octopi,
i seem to have sunk down
quite gill-less and un-finned
uh, rather hapless here
a mere, terrestrial, mortal in these depths
Could you please perhaps advise?
As nearly everything seems to have gone awry.
five large octopi
pulsing, and
floating gravity free bobbing lightly
look at me
and then at one another
and then at me again
(i anxiously regret every takoyaki i’ve ever eaten and consider
this may not necessarily end all that well
for me)
five pairs of eyes narrow, and
i don’t know how many long flowing tentacle-like arms start
unfurling around my face
landing soft inquisitive pokes and jabs
then suddenly
one arm like a flash of lightening
hurls a small sparkling stone behind me
and i swivel
ready to run away but am stoped by the five octopi
What are you doing, Tako? I ask, both nervously and annoyed
We are not Tako…
But in Japanese…
NO, not Tako!
Um, Yaki? I laugh, unable to stop myself.
A flurry of arms move the water all around sweeping me off my feet,
and ten eyes narrow in on me…
We are the Honorable Consortium of Octopi, we are
Your High Holiness the Grand Octopi of the Deep!
I squirm. All ten eyes seem to burrow into my soul, leaving no stone
unturned
And my long laundry list of woes out of the water surface
bubbling up one by one
bobbing, floating, gravity free
just like
The Honorable Consortium of Octopi
like rhythmic gymnasts, these five octopi begin playing with
and dancing,
twirling and tossing, spinning and balancing
all my woe ball bubbles
around!
You terrestrials take everything much too seriously
said the octopi, laughing
at me
All these woes of yours… what are they really?
Look, look closely, very closely, carefully…
they instructed while holding out one particularly large woe ball bubble
to me
resting it lightly in their long sucker-lined arms
and as i looked, my so-called woe ball bubble was shining softly,
like a crystal ball
drawing me further and further into its round sphere
where memories and emotions slid around shifting like sand
like a kaleidoscope
new patterns continuously emerging into view
one after another, each one
special somehow, beautiful, and entirely unexpected
mesmerizing
i was spellbound
tap, tap-tap…
an octopus tentacle on my shoulder
snapped me out of my woe ball bubble turned crystal ball kaleidoscope reverie
See? Terrestrial, it’s infinite, like mirrors mirroring mirrors
an endless parade of possibility
a playroom, perhaps
or a dance
a gem
and-just-like-that—
poof!
The Honorable Consortium of Octopi
disappeared,
all but right winked out of time and space…
Your High Holiness the Grand Octopi of the Deep,
i whispered
into the watery silence around me,
Thank You.
And, um… No more takoyaki for me. I promise. From now on it’s tomato-yaki.
but, The Honorable Consortium of Octopi
had vanished
without a trace
i take a deep breath and am about to push off this sea bed
to swim back up to the surface
but then i spy
a small sparkling stone
and i see it is not just any small sparkling stone
it’s a gem
smiling, i put it in my pocket
and i know
we’ll be alright
[Image by Erik Tanghe from Pixabay]
here, out on the shore
teetering on edge
i need the warmth of your hand
holding mine
my chest, burning with the ash and smoke of yesteryear
rises and falls,
swells with deep ocean waves
i want salt on my tongue
the grit of sand in my mouth
as i plunge
into the unknown
into this darkness
descending
further and further down
to the very
rock
bottom
to the fissure where
lava meets water
steaming
and hissing like snakes out of nowhere
out loud
screaming
where this primordial earth is churning
and grinding
the bones of my ancestors
into diamonds and pearls
into gold
into the fiery horizon
of new day
and at the break of dawn
hand in hand
we fly
the lotus floats, not
on a surface of sparkling clear and crystal waters
the lotus rises, rather
through a dark and shadowy underworld hidden from light
little by little, the lotus
reaches up and out and into
the open air
breathing
and
unfolding
her offering of grace to the sun
In this messy world, I aspire to be the lotus.
~a short meditation on flight, six~
last night
nestled in your warmth
you held
me
you held my heart
wholly
and into the deep ocean of your eyes
this body
bare and unadorned
was swept
swept like the sun’s scattered light
at dusk
swept up into your nighttime arms of gathering dark,
quiet, embrace
and so i
i left
one hundred and twenty two
kisses
on your skin
just
just before break of dawn
and then, out beyond the day
took flight
i wish to be
a flower
petals unfolding and unfettered
in a garden of peace
i wish to dance
together with the stars
spiraling sparkling spinning
and singing
all things beautiful
into being
and darling,
how i do wish to hold
your hand
our fingers entwined
in this forever love
limitless
like the horizon where
ocean and sky
are one
the sun cradles these soaring birds
while my feet
on this soft and sound earth
walk west
and drenched now in your honey and gold
my body disappears
into sky
for every hardship
i whisper this magic spell
有り難う
有難う (ありがとう) “arigatō” means “thank you” in Japanese. Embedded in the word arigatō is the meaning that existence is hard and kindness is precious; we give thanks for kindness.
Gratitude is the seed that grows a new garden in the desert.
may my body be a prayer
folded and kneeling
before this altar of love
and in my hands
an offering
one sacred flower
of life
there may be
a billion trillion stars
in the night
but only one of them
—the most beautiful and the most precious one of all—
is the light that i need
the song in my heart
and the fire in my soul
guiding me
at times carrying me
all along this long long way
winding through the mysteries
through the magic
and all throughout timelessness itself
how can i bow
before a sun that never fails
to rise?
Michiru Adrienne 