the universe and abbey road

My little one just got two more teeth
Bringing the total to eight
She started walking last week
I am so proud of her
Funny, how you can be so proud for something that is perfectly natural
Something they would do no matter what or who they are
But I guess that anything that is like this,
Anything that deepens my sense of awe and trust in the goodness
Of the universe
Is worthy of praise
To use a Christian term from the good ol' days

I am sewing buttons on a gauzy white blouse today
While she sleeps
And the boys are off swimming

Last night I discovered the fantastic potential
That Abbey Road has for interpretive dance
And I mean that in the cheesiest sense of dance
So the kids were jumping on the couch
And I was dancing and prancing and flowing around the room
Being so dramatic and interpretive
Good for laughs
Then I look over and the four-year old is copying me
Because the wind is high
The baby has her hands stretched up over her head
it blows my mind
She swings them down to her feet
We are all so dramatic and interpretive
I have to laugh at her, these kids are so funny

from a book of children's poetry

Hail
Hi
Ho
Hail!
It hit my forehead
Did it say, "Sorry"?
I think it said, "Sorry,"
But in a tiny, little voice.

Hi
Ho
Hail!
It vanished while I watched.
Did it say, "Good-bye"?
I think it said, "Good-bye,"
But in a tiny, little voice.

from The Magic Pocket by Michio Mado, translated by the Empress Michiko of Japan

Jizos for Peace

My heart is warm and open as I read my sangha's Jizos for Peace blog

white

Many years ago I was cross-country skiing through white woods
Forest green, blue-white and crystal sky
Stark
Discovered alongside the path some cozy little caves made out of snow
Crawled into one and there were even little shelves, so convenient
People (and a dog, judging by the fur in the smallest cave) had lived in them the night before
Had found rest in them
So white, they looked holy
Like little desert monks' retreats

Tonight I remembered this as I drew a warm bath
Filled it generously with a foot of bubbles (you have to use the jets for this effect)

If you put your bubbly hands together in prayer
Then pull them apart a little bit
There will be a white cave inside the bubbles
Illuminated from light through the bathroom window
A blue stormy light
That too speaks of holiness
As does the bed clad in fresh white sheets
Where you lay afer the bath
Clean
Smiling with your husband