A broken dream –
where do they go
the butterflies?
~Ichimu*

*cited:
Japanese Death Poems
Y Hoffmann
A broken dream –
where do they go
the butterflies?
~Ichimu*

*cited:
Japanese Death Poems
Y Hoffmann

chasing a memory
lost in the winter woods
I am lost

Clipped Wings

How did it come to this?
A forced landing, weakened wings
a solid source of former strength,
taking you through
dark clouds and heavy downpours.
Those resilient wings assured your
bodily independence
as you soared through storms,
high winds battering
and pressing upon your life.

Now those same weathered wings
bear evidence of missing feathers,
thinning bones and shrunken wingspan,
no longer able to lift and sour
or glide with the gusto that carried
you through turbulent tempests.
Slowly, slowly you learn to accept
those clipped wings, to be content
with nesting in the arms of elderhood.

You submit to this final appendage
of your journey, bid farewell
to cherished autonomy
and slowly fold your worn wings
in peaceful surrender.
~Joyce Rupp*
*cited:
Fly While You Still Have Wings
Joyce Rupp
My abode is
in winter seclusion
on this white mountain in Echigo.
No trace of humans
coming or going.
~Ryokan*

*cited:
Sky Above, Great Wind
K Tanahashi
losing my way
is part of the journey –
poppy flowers
Inahata Teiko*

*cited:
Far Beyond the Field
M Ueda
silver dewdrops
and my companion…
sharp shadows
~Issa*
Day 5: shadow & reflection…connect

*cited:
half of the body
in a dream; the other half
in summer

hula hoops
Short of breath
a sardine vender
makes his way to the top.
~Ryokan*
Day 3: Bliss
During the summer months residents and visitors come together on the campus of Colorado State University to hear music fill the air (and bounce off buildings) during the Lagoon Summer Concerts. As one looks over the lagoon, children gather into small groups as they search for tadpoles within the water. In the distance, they can be seen running and rolling down a hill with the Recreation Center highlighted by the evening sun. Bliss…awakens with the sounds and sights of children being free to be children.

Children at play during the Lagoon Summer Concert
*cited:
Sky Above, Great Wind
K Tanahashi
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