Jain Spirit 2005 09 No23

Author(s): Jain Spirit UK
Publisher: UK Young Jains

Page 58

ART & LITERATURE
INFLUENCED BY THE TEACHINGS OF AHIMSA AND ANEKANTVADA, ACCLAIMED WRITER ANDREW SAITO ATTEMPTS TO SPREAD LOVE INSPIRATION AND PEACE THROUGH POETRY AS YOU READ THE SELECTIONS BELOW, WE WELCOME YOU TO DISCOVER THE WAYS IN WHICH THIS WRITER INFUSES THE SPIRIT OF JAINISM INTO THE MOST UNEXPECTED SUBJECTS AND MEDIUMS.
I used to say your hands had too many veins I used to call them scary and ugly
INTERVIEW
But I always loved them
Because they were warm Because they were soft Because they were you
The NewsHour reporter gray-haired in khakis spoke while strolling with a woman who lost her hand to a dull blade she told of her son who drew dinosaurs his bones now lie with their fossils her daughter who liked to sing machetes slit open her songs
Your hands the first to clutch me at my birth My hands the last to hold you at your death
If you meet this woman on a sunburnt street in Kigali invite her to tea and watch the steam soothe over her wrinkles too many at thirty-two
Your veins atrophied into a disappearing act I.V.s drilled into your skin and for tattoos you wore bruises
Can you find the corner of her smile as she tastes the canned pineapple you brought on the airplane
ODE TO MY MOTHER'S HANDS
Can you hear a hint of laughter as she watches the dumb chicken run away from her afternoon shadow
But these hands were still yours still warm still soft still you
Search for these mere seconds and hold them they will fortify you as you listen to her sing her daughter's favorite song they will be your salve when her voice grows still
With your nails glossed and trimmed I understood the purpose of a ring
And your hands made the I.V.s immaculate
Recall her face when you disembark from your return flight as you grab hold of plastic handles and hoist your luggage from the conveyor belt
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And to the bruises they gave beauty
andrew p. saito 30 august 2000 9:21pm, fsm café 11:17 pm, kingman hall 19
Remember the water that welled in her eyes and disappeared when she showed you the drawing of a stegosaur folded and refolded
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