New Year Poetry Gathering

This year on New Year’s Day, 8 poets gathered to begin the New Year with a poetry gathering.  We composed a modified linked verse.  While we composed poems, people brought and brewed all kinds of tea from genmaicha to oolongs.  We also shared sake to help with creativity, and pot luck lunch. One of the highlights was sharing 6 different kinds of jinko brought back from Taiwan by one of my students.  Finally we shared sweets and a round robin chanoyu in the tea room, where I made the first bowl of tea for the shokyaku who made the next bowl of tea for the next guest in line until everyone had tea.  We completed the  32 links, the most we have ever done in a gathering. Below is the final poem.

Sunrise
Coming from the cold and dark
Looking to the east
The dawn breaks over the horizon
Returning light Awakens the day
As the sun rises 

A New Day
As the sun rises
Waves crash, tides wash anew
A huron silently watches the sand
Wind Rearranges the grasses
A new day is upon us 

Hearty Breakfast
A new day is upon us
Watery okayu, thickened oats
Nuts interfering in my navigation
Of bright morsels of yuzu
Dreaming of umami 

Drinking Tea
Dreaming of umami
The brisk morning chill
Melted away by liquid green
As steam swirls into the air
I look to the past 

Last Years’ Recollection
I look to the past
Tears roll unbidded
Joys, sorrow
Hopes, fears
And those I love 

Writing Letters
And those I love
Held in my heart
I sit at my desk
The birds calling
As I write New Year’s greetings 

Good News
As I write New Year’s Greetings
Sharing all the joys of the last year
Imagining all the possibilities of the next
Sharing with everyone dear to me
The warm blanket of well wishes 

 Cold Weather
A warm blanket of well wishes
Insulates me against the chill
The air snaps with cold
Frost on the windowsill
The world wrapped in snow 

Bundling Up
The world wrapped in snow
Looking out the window today
Layer upon layer
Wrapping up against the cold
Venturing Outside 

Going for a Walk
Venturing Outside
The ancient pines reaching for the stars
Tickle my inner child and eternal wisdom simultaneously
Another step forward reveals a new world
As snowflakes fall from nowhere 

Sparkling Snow
As snowflakes fall from nowhere
Shadows lengthen
Twilight spills through the outstretched limbs
A curtain of flakes
A blanket of luminescence 

 Quiet Contemplation
A blanket of luminescence
Silence, a gentle embrace
My thoughts turn inward
As I stroll through trees
Soft song begins to echo 

Stopping to Hear Birds
Soft song begins to echo
Pausing I listen
Close my eyes, inhale
Symphony envelops
Base, tenor, alto, soprano 

The Sound of Water
Base, tenor, alto, soprano
The river sings 
With many voices
Running from the mountains
Through the forest laughing 

Bare Trees
Through the forest laughing
The surrounding plants have shed their attire
The trees reaching grasping at the glassy firmament 
The forest so very much alive
Stirring around me 

Snowshoe Hare
Stirring around me
White firm invisible against the snow
Eyes and ears alert
A pink nose twitches
Scenting the way home 

Returning Home
Scenting the way home
Tramping through the fields
We hurry along familiar paths
And arrive back where we started
Anticipating warmth at last 

Before the Fire
Anticipating warmth at last
Embers crackle
Light and heat come forth
The scent of oak permeates the air
Inviting people near and far 

 Friends Visit
Inviting people near and far
Words shared
Sightline hangs upon the lips
The sounds and utterances
Describes the language of the heart 

Evening Meal
Describes the language of the heart
Friends around a table
Sharing food before the fire
Evening settles over us 
As the sun goes down 

Twilight
As the sun goes down
The wind quiets
The creatures still
The light fades to soft peach
I prepare the charcoal 

Sweets and Tea
I prepare the charcoal
The guests settle
The sounds of tea ceremony
Familiar and always new
Call from laughter the soul 

Laughter
Call from laughter the soul
Warm, friendly, welcoming
A new symphony arises
Playing in harmony into the rhythms of the forest
And lasts long into the night 

Late Night Talk
And lasts long into the night
Friends of the heart
Sharing our thoughts
Closure comes too soon
I stand at the open door

Farewell
I stand at the open door
Having completed our visit
I see the guests off 
Until they disappear
I return to sit by the fire 

Quiet Contemplation
I return to sit by the fire
From the bench in the park
My body relaxes into the woods’ grain
A bluejay catches my eye
The joy of the season settles into my bones 

Recalling the day
The joy of the season settles into my bones
Smiles and laughter accumulate into the earth
Layer upon layer 
A rich deep compost
Of heartfelt companionship 

Hot toddy
Of heartfelt companionship
My soul fulfilled
My body warmed
A hot drink in hand
I unwind  

Relaxing
I unwind
Backwards through this day
This week, this month 
This year spirals
Back then forward 

Next Year’s Plans
Back then forward
The past influencing 
The futures dreams
Spinning up to the clouds
Fading to sleepiness 

A Good Night’s Sleep
Fading to sleepiness
The day draws to a close
Making way for a new day to begin
I start to slow
Drifting away to ephemeral lands 

Dreams
Drifting away to ephemeral lands
Smiling I open my eyes
Cocooned in comfort and warmth
Memory of my dreams
In the moments before the new dawn 

Permanent link to this article: https://issoantea.com/new-year-poetry-gathering-2/

Return to the light

Today, December 21 is the winter solstice, the longest night, the shortest day of the year.  In Portland, the sun rose today at 7:49 am, and the sun set at 4:30 pm, an 8 hour 41 minute day, a 15 hour 20 minute night.  From now on the days will become longer and the nights shorter.  In six months we will be sitting in the sun as the world turns another cycle around the sun.

This year brought many new students to Issoan.  I returned last year to teaching in person, and have reintroduced the 10 week Introduction to Chado class.  Looking back, I have brought more than 250 students through that course over the last 20 years of teaching.  Of course, the 3 years of Covid, I didn’t teach any beginning students. Most of the students from last year and the students this year have been on my waiting list since Covid began.  I still have more than 30 people on the waiting list. The students this year are more enthusiastic and seem more interested in studying tea long term.  I think because they had to wait to take the course, it made them want it more and be more thoughtful about what they learned in the class.

The past year was filled with tea events.  Travel for tea,  tea intensives, many chakai, a few chaji, a new kagetsu group, and at least 3-4 tea presentations every month. I reconnected with  tea friends I haven’t seen in a long time, and I met many new tea friends.  And again, this year several of my long time tea friends and colleagues have passed on.  I will definitely miss them, but it makes me want to redouble my efforts.  I am doing my best to bring more people to tea, train more tea practitioners, and bring up the next generation of teachers.   I hope to pass on what I learned  and what I know with the time I have left.

Like the saying, “Every day is a good day,” Every year is a good year.  As I get older, the years seem to pass more quickly.  I am grateful for every day, every month, every year I have left.  Especially since a whole generation of teachers, sempai and senior practitioners are passing before us.  We need to present and savor every moment we can.

We have 10 days before the end of 2024 and a New Year will begin.  As we say goodbye to the year of the Dragon, we look forward to the year of the Snake.  I am doing a top to bottom cleaning, also paying debts, writing thank you cards to teachers, making year end donations, clearing obligations, reconnecting with people so that I can start fresh with the New Year.   Starting today, it is a return to the light.  I know it is going to be a good year.

 

 

Permanent link to this article: https://issoantea.com/return-to-the-light/

Autumn activities at Issoan

This Autumn there were many tea activities for Issoan.

October 18-20, Margie traveled to New Mexico to celebrate their 20th Anniversary.

 

 

 

 

 

October 27, Margie visited the beautiful Hakone Gardens in California to attend the Hakone Daichakai.  It was good to reconnect and meet new tea friends.

 

 

 

 

November 9, Issoan celebrated Robiraki with tenshin meal, sumi demae, koicha, and usucha at two seki.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Margie also held Robiraki at the Portland Japanese Garden for the Kashintei Kai group on November 16.

November 23, Issoan held a kimono and dogu sale.  Many newer students had an opportunity to purchase utensils at an affordable price.

We are looking forward to the winter activites and celebrations of the New Year.

Permanent link to this article: https://issoantea.com/autumn-activities-at-issoan/

Save the date

Portland International Tea Gathering

I am planning an International Tea Gathering in Portland, October 15-20, 2025.  Save the date. I hope you can join us.  Information updates will be posted here: www.sweetpersimmon.com

Permanent link to this article: https://issoantea.com/save-the-date/

In gratitude

It is that time of year as the holiday in the U.S. rolls around called Thanksgiving.  Most of the time, I am not thinking about giving thanks.  Sometimes I like to complain about my life. As I am getting older I find more time to reflect and think about my life.  It may sound trite to say but I am thankful today  for everything in my life.

I have a group of new students, and they are learning about how to be a good guest.  The past couple of weeks they are making good progress, but a couple of things seem to hang them up when receiving sweets or tea.  Most often they forget about “Osaki ni” and kansha.  They just want to dive in and get the sweets, or immediately drink the tea.

These are two small gestures, yet they are important in tea.  Osaki ni, or excuse me for going ahead of you, delays the immediate gratification of eating the sweets or drinking tea.  It slows one down to consider others first.  Lifting the sweets plate or bowl is an offering before partaking. Kansha, in gratitude, not just for the sweets or tea in front of us, but gratitude to the host for providing the temae, the space to hold the tea ceremony, for making the sweets, and for all the consideration that went into the preparation.  The cleaning of the room and mizuya, heating the water, and choosing these utensils.  It  is also for the people to planted the tea, harvested, processed, and transported it.  In fact, it is gratitude for everyone and everything that made this moment possible of sitting here eating these delicious sweets and drinking tea.

Just before my mother passed away, she made buy a blank journal.  I thought she wanted to dictate her last thoughts before she passed.  But she wanted me to use it.  She told me that every night before I went to bed, I should write three things I was thankful for in the journal.  Some days it was very hard to think of something I was thankful for.  Sometimes I was just thankful that the day was over.

I filled that journal over the next couple of years.  At some point I became eager to write down at the end of the day what I was thankful for.  I began to look for things during the day to remember to write in my journal  that night.  It was no longer adequate to write three things that I was thankful for.  Sometimes I filled a couple of pages.   I no longer write what I am thankful for, but mentally before I go to sleep, I think over the day of things in my life I am thankful for.  Loving family, good health, safe shelter, fulfilling work, living a long and productive life.

As I am getting older, more of my friends are no longer around.  Every year a few more are passing on.  While it makes me sad, I am thankful that I got to know them while they were here.  I wake up in the morning and look at my husband and knowing that our time on earth is finite, I am so thankful that I have another day with him.  That is a good start to the day, bookended by thinking at night how grateful I am for all the things in my life.

Yes, every day is a good day.

 

Permanent link to this article: https://issoantea.com/in-gratitude/