Ceremony – a poem by Olga Khmara

Ceremony

A speechless conversation
Between two tea bowls on one tray.
The earth exhales
And sighs relief
When the water fills the latent leaf
And unfurls the tension.

On the tray of elemental pillars
The parched one is united
With the giving. Rotate it,
Then gaze into my tea bowl
As it contains the soul
Print of its holder.

The tea bowl might look modest,
Though it fits the sea that’s warm
But wild; the wood that’s firm
But bending, and light that wakes,
Yet fades unless you notice
The big things in the smallest.

Olga Khmara is a Belarusian poet. Her work explores nature as a living witness. Her poetry has appeared in BirdLife Norge and is forthcoming in Sky Island Journal. She works as a nature guide.