Buddha and the Jay

James Reiman

At the peak of the storm

the jay is perched on the head of Buddha

near the corner of the garden

where dry stems of weathered phlox rattle in the wind

coal black eyes penetrate the blinding blizzard 

contemplating this precise moment

the shape of every exquisite flake of snow that is falling 

is fixed in this moment

frozen and motionless

in the driving snow

against the wind 

and the whiteness

lost in the sky 

the jay disappears 

in a blue grey cloud 

 

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James Reiman is a writer, poet and musician living in rural Vermont. He recently published a collection of poems entitled "Reflections", soon to be available from Cyberwit Publications. He has performed traditional music in Vermont for many years, and has now focused his creative energies on poetry. He believes in the restorative power of images through words, and that a good poem is a healing prayer.

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