Sesshin in May

Monastery bells –
the incense the candles
the woodblocks the gong
light like mist
on the quarrytile floor
where a lacewing grooms
from far below, the rise in pitch
of a big kettle filling –
and in the stillness, a tickle
as into my ear creeps a guest
some little thing with a tread
as delicate as bliss

George Marsh
“Sesshin in May” is from Salting the Air by George Marsh, (Waning Moon Press, UK, 1997).
Note: A sesshin is a meditation retreat.