Walking the Bagua circle,
I move like a snake
Slithering on patchy grass
Or a path etched by other warriors
On dry soil, as they are
Space holders and guardians
Of the world in this vortex,
This circle of yin and yang.
But uphill
On walnuts
With a weak leg,
I stumble.
Why can’t –
This way –
Be easier!
Why can’t it be smoother!
The walnuts underfoot are like boulders
Throwing me off the path.
I step forward, and
Grip the soil with all my weight
On that leg.
I bring up the back foot
Without it leaving the ground,
The toes turned in
To throw off my opponent with
No lifting of the toes or heel.
This is to be a surprise attack,
My snake step is to be swift
And smooth,
Securing my position in battle
As I throw the offender
Off balance into the tree.
Unless –
I am going uphill –
On walnuts-
with a weak leg.
Is this how it always is
For the aging warrior –
The bramble,
The rocky soil,
The clumps of weeds,
The dips and potholes –
My true opponents,
grabbing me and throwing me
Off balance to the ground?
No one can hear my stealthy step
But for the sound of my grinding hip!
Can I expect the way to battle
To be paved asphalt or even
Polished wood?
That is no way to train
Regardless of age.
The snake knows how to
Maneuver uphill on walnuts
And isn’t concerned about
An old weak leg.
(My teacher, Dan Miller, consoled me with his humor one day. No matter how well we cleared away the walnuts and obstacles on the Bagua circle, I felt challenged on my path. So he helped me laugh by saying, ‘uphill on walnuts on a weak leg’.)
Image Wording and Poem: ©Barbara Harris Leonhard @ extraordinarysunshineweaver .com
Image: Sun Lutang
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Published by Meelosmom
I am a poet weaver. I love going within to excavate the bits of my soul that need reassembly into words.
I weave in other ways. I’m also a collagist, assembling snippets of images into a new whole with deep meaning. Each collage is a poem. This year, I've also started drawing neurographica, and since beginning this art therapy, I can't believe how many new connections I've been making and new opportunities. This art form has changed my life and, I believe, my poetry writing.
I can also call myself a memoirist. I have compiled a poetry collection called Three-Penny Memories: A Poetic Memoir, which is about me and my mother, who passed from complications related to Alzheimer’s in 2016. Our lives were woven together in amazing symmetry, like a collage, around our mother wounds, our near deaths, and losses that impacted our relationship. This year I found a publisher for my book - EIF (Experiments in Fiction), which is owned and operated by Ingrid Wilson. The book was the #1 Release in Family Poetry on Oct. 15, 2022, and it attained best-seller status in three poetry categories over the next few days.
In Nov. 2022, EIF nominated me for a Pushcart Prize for a poem in my book, “Mom and I Play Lassos with our Hysterectomy Scars”.
In 2021-22, I submitted poems from it with some success. One poem, “Cooking a Life with a Wire Spine”, was published as a featured work on Spillwords, and in August 2021, was nominated as Publication of the Month. Also, in September 2021, Free Verse Revolution: A literary magazine, published two other poems from my collection, “Hestia for Hire” and “Mermother: A Rogue Dream Poem”. Kristiana Reed, the editor of Free Verse Revolution: A literary magazine, kindly writes in an email, “The portrayal of a parent/child relationship in both pieces was incredibly raw and moving.” My poem "Marie Kondo Cleans My Purse at Starbuck's" was voted publication of Jan/Feb in 2022.
In June 2022, I was honored to have two poems from my collection published in what became an Amazon best-selling anthology Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women (Gabriela Marie Milton. ed., also published by EIF - Experiments in Fiction).
It is humbling that my poetry is getting recognized in other ways. In the anthology Well-Versed 2021 (available on amazon.com), “Picasso Dreams Broken Glass” won Third-Place in Poetry and “From Your Son” received Honorary Mention.
This year I've also enjoyed interviews with Eri Nelson with SheShedStudios on VloggingPod (June 2); with Victoria Onofrei for "Victoria in Verse" on Bloomsbury Radio (August 14); with Thomas Whyte for Poetry Mini Interviews (a 5-part series in August and September); with Paul Brookes for Wombwell Rainbow (July 22); and others are forthcoming.
In November, Gabriela Marie Milton asked me if I would succeed her as Editor for Masticadores USA, and I really love it!
My husband Dierik is a musician of Bluegrass, Cajun, and Country music. He's also a wonderful music teacher. We've rescued and lost many cats over the years. Our last set of three cats is now down to one, Jasper, who was the youngest of the three. JoJo and Saga sadly succumbed to cancers since the pandemic started.
Catch me at...
Facebook: Barbara Leonhard
Twitter: @Barbara.Leonhar4
Instagram: @meelosmom123
Why Extraordinary Sunshine Weaver?
Weaver is Source, who connects all things.
Strings and threads are cloth woven for wear.
Sunshine is Source, who reaches out rays
Like fingers to heat and heal,
To create Spring, spiritual connection,
To nurture Gaia,
To create rain as food,
To dream life,
To forge love
And evolve Source.
Extraordinary is this mystery.
All extends from Source as fingers of light
To nourish and thrive,
And as night falls awake so do all
Return to Source.
©2022 Barbara Leonhard
Unless otherwise stated, all published works are the original works of the author and are copyrighted. Contents of the blog may be re-used either for personal or commercial purposes, in part or whole only with permission and the author duly acknowledged with links to the blog embedded.
View all posts by Meelosmom
August 13, 2018
Bagua , Poem , Poetry , Tai Chi
Aging , Baguazhang Training , Life Obstacles , Snskes , Sun Lutang , Training , Walnuts , Yin and Yang
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