Basho Comes With Lilies on His Feet

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With lilies on his
feet Basho comes

through the green
springtime

I see him walk
I see how the lilies move with him

his hands fill with dew

the Cloud of Unknowing
rises ’round, walks with him, within him

he sees me, I follow

through the Gate of Peace
he passes, rises

the Bonsho, deep
inside the garden, rings, rings, rings
until
I too
hear the beauty of One

Basho turns,
gives me those lilies,
those ones from the Unknowing, from beyond time

I strap Basho’s white
lilies to my feet

they hold
me to the path now
just by their fragrance

I hear the bonsho ring, the bell
breaks for beauty

(Written on October 5, 2018)

Darlene Witte
Darlene Witte

Professor of Education, (retired) at Johnson State College in Vermont leads the Green Mountain Writers' Poetry & Performance workshop that meets on Zoom each month on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays at 7 PM ET. Find out more at https://www.meetup.com/green-mountain-writers

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