use your stick to cut the blue sky, then jump around on the beach with it. This will inspire the attention of others.
Haiku 2/22/20
to be sunlit waves / to be the round stones below / to belong to this (Notes: I had a couple things going on here…I had been doing some Shintaido exercises at Lake Massapoag that connect to nature with a staff — reaching up to the sky, down to the earth, out to the horizon. And I have been participating … Read More
Dancing on thin ice haiku, 2/15/20
Put your right boot in / shake it all about — that’s how / you dance with the marsh (Notes: Usually when I see this patch of ice in the marsh, I poke it with a stick, my jo staff. I just like doing it. But today I had a special staff (bokutoh) that I didn’t want to mess with. … Read More
Haiku 2/15/20
Those sunny cold days / and trouble that happens when / clouds get stuck in trees (Note: In my exercise with jo staff, I alternate lifting the staff to the sky and back down to earth. I was noticing the bare branches — it’s Winter after all, and also the dry brown grass on the ground when I brought the … Read More
Haiku 1/30/20
Another sunrise / on the gold lit photo of / another sunset (Notes: One of the great discoveries I made after I moved into my new place was to see how amazing the sun looked shining through new gold curtains in the morning. That whole section of the room radiated gold. And on the wall I framed a photo from … Read More
Ecstatic Dance and Shintaido, Connecting Heaven and Earth
I had the pleasure to lead the intro/warmup section to FreeDance in Natick last week, connecting some central ideas from Shintaido with free form dance movement. (FreeDance is the “high energy freestyle dance experience” with live drumming by Drum Nomads). A central idea: use our movement to connect with nature around us. Even if we’re dancing inside a building, we … Read More
Haiku 1/23/20
winter lake shore walk —frozen rocks and icy waves / wintertime shining / (Notes: Lake Massapoag has been pretty amazing in the Winter. Once I overcome the reluctance to step out into the cold world, I discover things I’ve never seen before. The interplay of liquid water and frozen ice on top, especially when the sun comes out and makes … Read More
Haiku 1/22/20
Overhead with sword / cut across the sky to see /what’s unexpected (Notes: After a run through the woods, settled in front of Lake Massapoag to work with the staff, a series of cuts in front of me and above me, using the staff as sword. Sometimes amazing things pop into view, and as I was cutting through the sky, … Read More