The Spark Catches - Doji Kaze
Posted: Sun May 17, 2020 9:35 am
Warm friend of Summer
Knows now how close I kept her.
In Winter we're one.
He looked up, then, dark eyes scurrying across the room, hunting for fleeting sneers or stifled laughter. And sure enough, there were hands raised over a few mouths. Her teaching, meant to cover the natural reaction to his fretful fumbling at poetry, meant to soothe the scars on his heart. She was so thoughtful.
He returned his gaze to the floor, the pain in his heart throbbing for a moment. But then she was there, hand outstretched.
"Kaze-san, how you have grown!" Her voice like a hundred songbirds raised in chorus, a fitting vehicle for the Words. So unlike his own harsh rasp. "A little more practice, perhaps a greater subtlety in your expression of the subject, and you will have mastered the short-form poem!"
He heard her, of course, and he was determined not to give up. The words would come from him as well, from the fire she had lit when she found him.
"I...will do my best, my lady." His eyes remained fixed on the floor at her feet. She drew nearer; he felt the cool breeze as she passed him on the right. He felt the warmth of the holy place where she learned her words.
"I know you will, Kaze-san. And when the spark has caught in you, it will shed a light by which all will see. For there is no soul so wounded that it cannot be healed, and no darkness so deep that it cannot be enlightened." She circled to his front and brought her finger down to raise his chin with her gentle pressure. "You and I are going to accomplish so much, Kaze-san."
"Hai, my lady. I serve."
"Hai, Kaze-san. For now. But when you have mastered our words, Kaze-san, then you will lead."
Knows now how close I kept her.
In Winter we're one.
He looked up, then, dark eyes scurrying across the room, hunting for fleeting sneers or stifled laughter. And sure enough, there were hands raised over a few mouths. Her teaching, meant to cover the natural reaction to his fretful fumbling at poetry, meant to soothe the scars on his heart. She was so thoughtful.
He returned his gaze to the floor, the pain in his heart throbbing for a moment. But then she was there, hand outstretched.
"Kaze-san, how you have grown!" Her voice like a hundred songbirds raised in chorus, a fitting vehicle for the Words. So unlike his own harsh rasp. "A little more practice, perhaps a greater subtlety in your expression of the subject, and you will have mastered the short-form poem!"
He heard her, of course, and he was determined not to give up. The words would come from him as well, from the fire she had lit when she found him.
"I...will do my best, my lady." His eyes remained fixed on the floor at her feet. She drew nearer; he felt the cool breeze as she passed him on the right. He felt the warmth of the holy place where she learned her words.
"I know you will, Kaze-san. And when the spark has caught in you, it will shed a light by which all will see. For there is no soul so wounded that it cannot be healed, and no darkness so deep that it cannot be enlightened." She circled to his front and brought her finger down to raise his chin with her gentle pressure. "You and I are going to accomplish so much, Kaze-san."
"Hai, my lady. I serve."
"Hai, Kaze-san. For now. But when you have mastered our words, Kaze-san, then you will lead."