Haibun: The Space Between
Tender to the touch are these fleeting moments between each word around COVID-19. Fear, “did you hear,” and “I heard” are the words that pass like the virus: limitless and without concern for who is on the receiving end.
But between the words of germs, humanity, and panic, as it is between the canyon walls of Horseshoe Bend, there’s space. Seriously, there’s a repeating space between both the words we think and speak where there isn’t anything. As one word falls away there’s a space before the other one arrives. Without that space, one word would jumble into the next.
So it’s in that space we can find the now. Just now. That space can go from fleeting to infinite with constant returning to the space and not the words. The returning to that space can only be repeated with humility and unforced arrival. But like the gap between the Horseshoe Bend and the opposite wall, that space is what makes room for a river of beauty in the middle of a desert. And like Horseshoe Bend, the lingering beauty makes the return to reality that much richer.
So in this time of Coronavirus, just rest between thoughts and words when you get the chance. Rest in the beautiful that panic and events can’t find.
off the steep, steep ledge—
gapped till water’s edge—descend
spring at horseshoe bend
But between the words of germs, humanity, and panic, as it is between the canyon walls of Horseshoe Bend, there’s space. Seriously, there’s a repeating space between both the words we think and speak where there isn’t anything. As one word falls away there’s a space before the other one arrives. Without that space, one word would jumble into the next.
So it’s in that space we can find the now. Just now. That space can go from fleeting to infinite with constant returning to the space and not the words. The returning to that space can only be repeated with humility and unforced arrival. But like the gap between the Horseshoe Bend and the opposite wall, that space is what makes room for a river of beauty in the middle of a desert. And like Horseshoe Bend, the lingering beauty makes the return to reality that much richer.
So in this time of Coronavirus, just rest between thoughts and words when you get the chance. Rest in the beautiful that panic and events can’t find.
off the steep, steep ledge—
gapped till water’s edge—descend
spring at horseshoe bend
 |
| & Haiku: Horseshoe Bend |
