Time

Full Empty

A Time Celebrant

(Change cast December 9, 2022, 11:42 AM EST)

損 (sǔn)

Decrease

Hexagram 41      

大畜 (dà xù)

The Taming Power of the Great

Hexagram 26

The root cellar empty.

Each evening Aunty counts

the remaining coins

and checks on the welfare

of Great Grandma’s necklace

tucked safely behind the linens.

Uncle rises before the birds

signal dawn’s arrival,

quietly dresses,

then sets off for the harbor.

There will be nets to mend.

After tending to the chickens

Aunty teaches me the hexagrams.

See! she implores

pointing down

to the moving line.

I want to see Aunty!

I do! But what?

Why, it’s you! she beams,

All things take shape and form.

(Time Celebrants, poems written out of encounters with the I Ching, The Book of Changes.)

The Walls Came Down

A Time Celebrant

泰 (tài)

Peace

Hexagram 11

大畜 (dà xù)

The Taming Power of the Great

Hexagram 26

(Change cast using the coin method, December 1, 2022, 12:49 AM EST)

George's Oak by Richard Reeve

The Walls Came Down

In awe, this unexpected guest remains –

Who dares disturb the hushed splendor

with trivialities?

Come, sit by the fire

until the last log but embers

and your smile surrenders to yawns.

No need to rail against headlines –

the oak will revive come spring.

The unseen roots,

how far they must reach!

Child,

in days distant

you will recount for

your children’s children

tales of depleted shelves

in all the frantic markets.

Orion hung low in the sky

when the walls came down.

(Time Celebrants, poems written out of encounters with the I Ching, The Book of Changes. Here you can find an Introduction to the I Ching I wrote for those that are interested.)