RITUAL - a poem of tea composed in covid isolation

the recipient of this card (no 39) tasked with composing a poem of tea...

Ritual

I stand and sigh, so long the day
My thoughts extinguished with the sun,
Limbs that yawn in quiet concert
With my flagging eyes.
I've misplaced routines
Let slip the threads
My precious anchors against the turmoil
That eddies cool with quiet threat.

As I stare across the deepening sky
The finest lisle wefts towards me
Worrying at my worried mind
Seeking to unthread those knots
Grown tighter through the troubled day.
Fragrant at the edge of dream,
It floats towards me on a kiss
Composed of comfort, warmth and love,
And memories so richly steeped
That coil softly round my tired heart.

I lift my old teapot with care
For a candent chamber glows within
Where flows a life as if of magic
Whispered on alchemical breath.
Subtle are her incantations
And varied are her complex spells
That fuse the thousand tiny talismans
Convinced to yield their hidden charms.

I pour forth the subtle evocation,
Trap it in my little cup,
And lifting it to reverent lips,
I deeply breathe,
Then fondly sip,
And at last, in peace, I smile.


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