Today I went to the dentist, read O Magazine in the waiting area, and had lunch out afterward. From my journal:
silver-haired grandmother
your hair shimmers brighter than the golden
sari that drapes your ankles in embroidery
skimming the tops of your vibram fivefingers—–
a thin metal instrument
to the base of a tooth
my nerves cringe
as if you poked
the center of my bellybuttonwhat is that sensitivity
that can’t bear to be touched?
where else
will it surprise me?—–
Today I am reading the O poetry issue and I am feeling the poems in my soul. I’ll be getting my period so this is surely part of the why, but it’s the chickens too, the thin lush indigo irises in a yard on Homer Avenue and the growing new cilantro on my kitchen counter, the two watercolor washes I had time to put down before I left this morning. There has been poetry growing in me, and it feels good. I think it is my own poetry but before I knew that I already discovered it was also others’ poetry, the missives of other souls finding a place within mine for the first time in years. I almost cried in the dentist’s waiting room, reading W S Merwin and the words of a Bronx teenager for her little brother. The first meeting of the IWL reawakened my child’s connection to all things and I can’t turn it off. Won’t. It makes me feel so alive, because it’s not just me alive but everything, all these plants and creatures. A vast army of life.
I wonder how my cousin Angela feels, cutting and sewing bleeding American bodies in Iraq. Does she see my army of life? Would I, in her place? And those who wait for her and her patients — can they hear my army march for them? Would I?
satsumabug.com | Lisa Hsia 
This post sets me tingling! Your delight is practically setting the page on fire, Lisa! Love it, love it, love it! And am dancing with your poetry. (Btw, thanks for the link to Vibram fivefingers. Would be scratching my head otherwise:)) The interconnectedness of all things is flowering in your soul. Your cup runs over with Love…..Does your cousin hear your army marching? I do hope so. I suspect though, that her own very real Army may drown out the music. What do you think?
Thank you so much, Sherry! I’m feeling pretty tingly myself, these days! Yes on the Fivefingers… I only know what they are because my sister (Shra) and her fiancé wear theirs all the time. When I noticed that lady wearing them with her sari, it totally made my day. I’d love to know the story behind why she has them. 🙂
I don’t know how my cousin feels; she’s got a darker bent than I do, which is maybe why she’s able to be an army surgeon — I think I’d be overwhelmed with all the suffering and violence. But who knows? At any rate Shra and her fiancé and I have plans for a massive cookie-baking session so we can ship them out to Iraq. 🙂
This is so beautiful! I read this post earlier today, and because I tend to be poetically challenged, I read it again tonight. I’m still weirded-out about not understanding the W S Merwin poem, but I understand yours. More than that, I feel yours –like a contact high of creative inspiration! And a healthy and expansive appreciation for yours! Thanks!
Thank you, Ré! “A contact high of creative inspiration” — love that and I totally know the feeling too. 🙂 You do it for me too!
I haven’t felt a huge connection to poetry in the past, so I am having a grand time with my current love for it. I don’t know if it’ll last, but even if it doesn’t, who cares? 🙂