To Rising Dragon Tai Chi, in gratitude:
Note: Each of the movements in Tai Chi is called a “posture”. The whole sequence of postures is known as “the form”. Practising Tai Chi is described as “playing the form”.

Time slammed me down the mountain,
Hurled me from rock to rock
In a torrent of obligations,
Doing bad work by the clock.

The Tai Chi class was quiet,
Through a fog of boredom I’d wade.
Words failed to explain what was happening:
“Practise!” they said. So I played.

Bright summer with mist on the river.
That day we were up with the lark.
We played the form to our shadows,
Learning to dance with the dark.

Alien the ancient postures,
But space for the spirit to move.
Aging, I swim with the sluggish stream
And know the detachment of love.