Bonsai
Bonsai
Edith Tiempo
All that I love
I fold over once
And once again
And keep in a box
Or a slit in a hollow post
Or in my shoe.
All that I love?
Why, yes, but for the moment -
And for all time, both.
Something that folds and keeps easy,
Son’s note, or Dad’s one gaudy tie,
A roto picture of a young queen,
A blue Indian shawl, even
A money bill.
It’s utter sublimation,
A feat, this heart’s control
Moment to moment
To scale all love down
To a cupped hand’s size,
Till seashells are broken pieces
From God’s own bright teeth,
And life and love are real
Things you can run and
Breathless hand over
To the merest child.
* - At the 48th National Writers’ Workshop, I was blessed enough to learn from the grand dame of Filipino poetry, Edith Tiempo. I remember it like it was just yesterday: the lessons on form and content from the porch of her house in Montemar, overlooking the hillsides and the sea. Form grows with content. The message should reverberate from the piece, not simply emerge naturally.
For the moment, I think that sharing her work be a most fitting way to not only express condolences, but also express thanks.
Rest in peace, Mom Edith.
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