Heaven is above the bowl

(September 2021. In a sense, this is the first true daopoem. After getting back from our day at Tahoe, Luca and I did a fun little experiment. We co-wrote a poem, trading line for line. It was a really fun experiment and one I have repeated since. It came out pretty cool, we got into a great back and forth rhythm. It’s fun having another mind to riff off of. I found it especially interesting the way that we both seemed to absorb a bit of the other’s style— his line about charging to the blue was very Aidan. My lines are bolded)

Heaven is above the bowl
Virulent with pride
And the upward urge of soul contained
in shards among the leaflets.
Skyholes poked by pineneedles show
the whole shining behind.
Revolution rubs me,
All friction, no center,
turning me into a dragonfly,
sharp and true.
I seize my own forwardness and face where I please.
Yesterday crafts an escape
From which today cannot return
piling deeper into itself…
The only way out is through.
We charge to the blue,
silently,
Though endlessly evaded—
This is the final churning
And I am learning to settle
For now.