The Gardener
Santa Clara, CA 95051
theroot_us@yahoo.com

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tabitha

 

 

TABITHA©

 

 

 

RESONANCE

 

 

from high in the hackberry tree

came the latest addition to our group

quite literally a drop-in

hitting the lawn with a thud

 

it must have hurt

anguished squirrel barks filled the air

scampering up the silver maple

back down the power line to the hackberry

over the fence rail

 

۞

 

before the group formed, Tabitha had visited the zendo

she sat facing in and did not move

nothing did

next morning she tried sitting to one side

after that on my hands

or by the door

until at last, just looking in to see how it was

nothing different, stick of incense, fresh flower

she left

 

a week later, resolutely

she asked me to open the patio door

went outside and led me to the lawn chair

her territory

clearly a better place to sit

 

the group meets every morning now

 

summer was open enrollment

a big black bee began showing up

buzzing in to visit small purple flowers

 

a pair of robins

hopping around the compost and over the lawn

a baby somewhere

our neighbor starting his motorcycle

 

now all of this may seem removed from zazen

but consider just how noisy a zen temple can be

gongs, chanting, wooden block clappers, the mokugyo beat

not to mention the kyosaku stick

whack!

 

or think of small purple flowers as incense

zazen is a state of mind, not things

 

Tabitha caught on quickly

as our concentration deepened, her ears stopped flickering

we were quite still

 

that's when we heard the thud

 

the next day it was watching

from the fence rail a few feet away

looking directly at us

dropping down to run towards the hackberry

and the next day it came closer, approaching our chair

why?

we weren't offering walnuts or anything

 

again this morning squirrel was on the fence

munching rose hips

gazing at us

 

speculations aside

it all feels quite natural

 

 

 

 

CIVIL RIGHTS

 

 

 

“London Bridge is falling down”

while Tabitha and I sit in the back yard

and our neighbor starts his motorcycle

a humming bird comes to visit the fuchsia

big black bee to the purple flowers

myriad sounds of life

 

 

 

oh, those long days ago

when Camel cigarettes were the obvious choice

of a savvy smoker

more tar and nicotine than any other cigarette

and when bumming a light:

“want me to kick you in the chest to get it started?”

 

freedom

to kick those butts

 

as we watch the humming bird

ears swivel to the small helicopter sound

for the moment

then return to doing nothing

 

 

 

NOON MOON

 

 

a pendulum in my grandfather mind hangs motionless

somewhere out of sight

over a clothes line shining brightly

in darkness complete

 

a cheerful sign

no mundane hope will raise the impossible

rather, a fly will visit my arm as we sit

waiting in early morning for clouds to clear

 

it does visit, a curious tourist

that might see a thousand toes

whereas Tabitha, with just two eyes

irritated at the miniature monkey

abruptly leaves her seat

 

and the pendulum remains undisturbed

 

 

 

 

SUMMER TIME

 

 

what is the sound of one bone breaking?

answer that and pass through the prison gate

 

but surely this is too extreme

 

the beheading of a journalist?

planes full of travelers meeting their deaths?

flood, drought, heat waves?

 

alarmist! chicken little!

 

better to let the world sort itself out

light a stick of incense

sit like a mountain

 

time and again

our back yard is blasted with jet planes

a neighbor's cuckoo clock

unseasonable clouds

 

Tabitha and I sit like accidental tourists

on a stationary tour bus

where things rush by on their own

 

we ignore religious diets

beliefs are out of the question

all the world is us

 

beheadings, water line ruptures, chiropractic cures, neighborhood kids, shopping carts festooned with American flags

tumble weed is hardly imagined in our back yard

which looks onto the edge

of a galaxy

with quantum wavicles

behaving in peculiar ways

 

 

 

THE GIFT

 

 

 

down the fence and into the side yard

here comes bushy tail

like a kid with a treasure

presenting a rose hip

 

“Hello, squirrel!”

 

then back up into the green canopy

 

a day or two later, as we sat, squirrel reappeared

hauling an avocado bigger than his head

across the back yard fence

 

stops on the post right before us

then sprints for the planter box

 

two ears, a pair of eyes, poke up over the edge

 

Tabitha, following her instinct, leaps up,

squirrel retreats to the hackberry tree

perches on a branch, making short cries

sort of softly

 

the squirrel belongs, I say

but Tabitha isn't listening

 

we are different, the three of us

 

the avocado

waiting on the ground by the box

 

I planted our gift

 

 



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The Gardener
Santa Clara, CA 95051
theroot_us@yahoo.com