Morning Suizen
Boundless, it sips direction in the way of all music,
tonguing each note for its salt.
We call this ecstasy. Or peace.
Follow, and they still escape, always beyond
our outstretched fingers.
Exhale slowly. What do you know?
That long tunnel, ribbed in silence.
The scent of burning cedar.
Days framed in darkness and birdsong.
* * *
Note: Suizen is the practice of playing the shakuhachi, the traditional Japanese bamboo flute, as a means of attaining self-realization.
“Morning Suizen” first appeared on Nine Muses Poetry. Many thanks to editor Annest Gwilym for taking this piece.
O at the Edges 
Meditation music for our muse…sounds peaceful.
“The last refuge of the insomniac is a sense of superiority to the sleeping world.” – Leonard Cohen
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It’s peaceful to me. To anyone listening? Not so much. 😀
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Lovely, I can really feel it. Your images are magical
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You are very kind. Thank you, Deborah.
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“Days framed in darkness and birdsong…” what an evocative line! There is so much light seeping through it. What I mean is that it reminds me of sitting in a darkly shaded open space practicing my nohkan while sunlight made the surrounding summer foliage explode with color; birds chirping all around. There is nothing like a nearly pitch black empty temple space (light adjacent) to make one just flop over and fall asleep in in reverie (that, and the crushing humidity!).
Thank you VERY MUCH for this inner trip back to that peaceful space and gloriously sleepy day…
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Thanks, Daniel. Glad it evoked a good memory. When I wake before dawn, I listen for the birds and watch the light trickle in. Evenings are often much the same, but with the light fading out.
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Your writing provides so much opportunity to remember, dream and take blissful naps.
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My poems have long been known for their soporific effects! I used to read them to a bulldog, who always started snoring within minutes.
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Beautiful poem, peaceful feeling generated in reading this, letting my mind drift – I especially like “That long tunnel, ribbed in silence.” A long tunnel of silence into which one might retreat escaping conflicting urgencies and attitudes … focusing on the idea of such somehow softens the collective noise … Thank you!
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It’s often difficult to find those tunnels of peace, but when I do, I try to embrace them!
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A quietly lovely poem, Robert. All the elements working together so well.
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Thank you, Randy!
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Welcome. Thanks, Bob.
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There is definitely a peace to be found in playing a wind instrument. It’s all about breathing and trying not to pass out while creating an acoustic art. And there is something beautiful about that for sure.
Great work with the poem man, I enjoyed it.
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There is indeed, Jacob. Thank you.
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Things I need to do. Thank you for calling my soul back to itself, Robert.
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Glad to have been of service, M.T. 🙂
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Beautifully written Anand Bose from Kerala
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Thank you, Anand!
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