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Chrysanthemum Nr. 20. Oktober 2016 92
J. Zimmermann
Imprinting the Invisible*
The teacher teases
although the target is large
and close
I'll be attached to the idea
of hitting but miss anyway
She makes me begin with nothing: no arrow, no bow, and no target. Instead she
leads me empty-handed through the traditional sequence of eight steps. So I
separate my feet and align them in a way that an invisible line passes through my
arches to the center of the invisible target on my left. I balance my torso, not yet
looking toward the target but facing at right-angles to it. I set the string hand and
the bow hand. Then I raise the bow with the arrow as a unit, turning my head to
the target.
I draw the bow, pushing the bow forward, pulling the string back, and using my
shoulder muscles to open the draw. For three heart beats I hold the full draw. I let
my invisible arrow release. Finally I lower the invisible bow, returning my gaze to
the side where it began, and I close my stride.
a dipper gleans
the bright mountain beck
walking under water
longer than I can hold my breath
when I practice not to drown
_____
* An earlier version of this piece's prose appeared in Presence #48 (2013) in the haibun “Imprinting” with
three haiku.
Chrysanthemum No. 20. October 2016 92