crip wabi-sabi

wabi-sabi is the Japanese aesthetic which among other characteristics finds transcendent beauty in imperfection -

a broken cup, a beauty mark.

a broken pot

my crippled body speaks

the beauty of rust

faded colours

the dusty beggar smiles

green snake tattoo

curls around the stump

pitted with scars

hammered silver rings

on one crooked hand

life’s scarred journey

black storm clouds gather

rain hammers

rainbows arc gracefully

sky rings with silver

out at sea

in a worn old boat

called 'Misfortune'

wave-tossed, rocking, tipping

I steer towards the bay

“man overboard”

I heard the sailor

I'm pulled by the tide

towards the shore and the ruin

of the dark lighthouse

Bill Albert/Joy McCall

published in Atlas Poetica 30