Two Poems, Megan E. Freeman

We Will Meet Under The Bodhi Tree

Two blocks north
the Zen center stretches
in a sun salutation.

One block south
the Fellowship blinks
its sleepy doors to greet
the coffee makers and
flower arrangers.

We buckle on our Mary Janes
you tie your soft-soled shoes
we toss the paper up the driveway
and turn to walk our separate paths
dropping breadcrumbs along the way.

And when the sun is high
in the Sunday sky
we will meet under the Bodhi tree
to spread our picnic blanket
and tell each other stories.

All paths lead home.

walking meditation

practitioners step with deliberate care

shift
lift
place

traverse church grounds
thirty feet in thirty minutes

shift
lift
place

roll under balls of feet
clods of nubby grass
sharp-edged rocks

shift
lift
place

dust-colored rabbit dashes from long grass

freezes in middle of meditation
walkers continue walking

rabbit dashes into pasture across road

who is more present in the world?
who is more awake?

 

Megan E. Freeman’s debut poetry chapbook, *Lessons on Sleeping Alone*, was published in 2015 by Liquid Light Press. She has been published in literary anthologies and journals, and her poetry has been selected as texts for compositions commissioned by the Los Angeles Master Chorale and Ars Nova Singers. Megan holds degrees from Occidental College and the Ohio State University and lives near Boulder, Colorado.  www.meganefreeman.com