We’re always told to drop into the root,
And feel the earth beneath our feet,
The bubbling spring of nourishment
That could perhaps fill out my stick-like legs
Bruised by neglect.

But tai ji is too hard and does not suit,
And pain shoots through the knees
As my blind striving makes it worse
And hardened muscles, lower limbs like pegs
Totter bereft.

Where is that holding tightness? In my hips?
Perhaps the pelvis is involved,
The quads and lower abdomen,
It stops the qi from flowing through the groin
With great effect.

Can I drop all this guarding? Brave the slips
And falters of true letting go,
To free the passageways below,
So that my sacred root and earth may join
In deep respect.

Songs of Forgiveness, June 2026