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creative Sesshin

Deep Autumn Sesshin 2022

From Maxine


Late into night, nimble, sticky hands stroke my hair

Finger wisps tap my neck

and a head is nuzzled in close, carrying the smell of yesterday’s shampoo

Bloated belly presses in close

And sleep gently descends over heavy eyes.

And yet

Something is not quite right.

Bodies are roused

And before I think to turn my head, oceans of vomit flow through me, onto me,

drenching hair, drenching life, drenching bone

It is day two of Sesshin

I know what to do. I grab his white body close

A shower beckons;

Tender feet pitter-patter behind me

Naked bodies hosed down like hippos at the zoo

“I don’t know what to do in here,” a small voice says

What do I do in here?

What is it that we do?

Towels curl over long limbs and bed is once again waiting, present and unperturbed

As breath grows deeper, I feel my body tense.

My body, my body of steel, my body ready to fight

At daybreak I watch him devour a bowl of muesli

And I soften

Any myth of a sovereign body unsteady

His body,

my body,

not two,

not one,

but everything.

From Nadine



The Green Water Tank

From Lizzie

And here I am….

….Always here, standing silent….steady

In a garden bed up by the side gate

I am high enough, corrugated green, round and squat

Waiting……

Waiting for the autumn rains to bring me…FILL ME

With water

With pipes coming in and out of me in all directions

Nobody has much time to admire or even notice me

And what I can do with the water I carry.

In the winter I am full and overflowing

Sending water that is free from the skies

To the indoor house lu and the washing machine

Providing water for the garden

But now I am almost empty….

And sound hollow if you tap me

Few acknowledge the power of the water I contain

H-2-0, yes, water

Mostly disregarded in this part of the world

Unless there is drought or flooding

Then people suffer and take notice

But day to day…well water is very ordinary, it’s  “just water” coming out of the tap

And goes uncelebrated as the VERY ELIXIR of life

The lady who frequents this garden is a case in point

She has tried to cover me up with tall green succulents

…to hide me, rather than CELEBRATE ME

With ……..well tinsel and gold paint and baubles, bright coloured balloons

And a flashing lit up sign like ‘Carrier of H-2-0, the Golden Elixir’

Ach well….I am comfortable enough with my humble standing

Here in the garden, embedded in the good earth….

and I’m not going anywhere

I’m staying put, this is just as it is

And I am content to be here

…Waiting for the rain


Din or Chime

Din or Chime

    Bell or Bird

         no divide

Song or Cry

    you may choose

or hitch a ride

on wings’ breath

of a Butterfly

delicate white petals

float and bob

now a determined arrow

darting by

an unforced strength against

the push and shove of wind

it’s single aim to greet

a neighbor giddily

a waltz of 4 wings

in delirium short and free

joined unfathomably

a serenade to Breathing

 a poem I wrote on the Kinhin moment
of laying on my back on the earth. .. 

             – Glenda-mai Morgan



Leaf

A leafy garden

where habit is to admire flowers

my gaze sliding over the leaves

But see. How varied and distinct are expressions of leaf,

each emerging from its own template

Spinach, amaranth, basil, leaves we eat

Curry leaves, thyme, mint

Do I see them before I eat them?

I stroke the scented leaves of the tea tree

She sticks a splinter in my hand

Tiny ace shaped leaves sneak from cracks

Succulent jellybean leaves unfold in spirals

Tough leaves in tight formation, hold grevillea flowers

Nasturtiums spread green platters for dew, sun, rain

Can a nasturtium speak ‘leaf’ to a grevillea?

Does the three-fold aquilegia recognise

cordyline pointed aspirations?

The wide tongues of the palm trees, do they

speak of affinity with the needles of the Norfolk Pines?

Do they recognise common leaf-ness in their distinctness?

From Ines


Hills Hoist

Seldom used Hills Hoist.

Stands straight & proud

Birds pull out the fibres on the old lines for their nests

Under its imaginary protection…

Roses red with new growth and flowers

A small Frangipani tree that was a cutting

And a small Frangipani cutting that was a tree

Fresh mint & parsley for Tabbouli

Portulacca flowers for the native bees

Cat grass for the Temple cats.

From Dave


Deep Autumn Sesshin 2022