A Begginner's Story

I want to share a poem e-mailed to me by one of our newest students, Marcos Johnson:

UH, EXCUSE ME SENSEI?

Waiting on one Sensei
While talking to another

The Dojo doors open

3rd Aikido class
Of what will hopefully be
33 thousand

13 years earlier
I quit
After one of them

Too hard to be humble

During the all important 2nd one
This time
The teacher
Tells me to roll

“Why don’t you work on rolling
over there in the corner?”

Flop around for a while
Until I execute
A half-assed facsimile
Of what the experts do

The difference being
There is no air
Between me and the mat

Even so I smile

Learning something simple

I like it

So for today’s class
I ask the Sensei
If I can keep working
On this most basic
Of techniques

He grants me permission
To play by myself

The black belts
With the flowing bottoms
Are beautiful

One day I will be one

One baby step at a time

MARCOS
2007



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