… i wake earlier than usual… lie in bed trying to relax my body, some success… up… let the dogs out… feed the cat… run water into the tea kettle, set it on the burner… grind coffee beans, a chocolate fruity smell… pour the grounds into the press… let the dogs in… treat the dogs… pour the just now boiling water into the coffee press… stir the coffee with a chop stick… stretching exercises… four minutes and the coffee is ready… press the grounds down to the bottom… agave and cinnamon added to my thermal cup… pour the coffee, elevating the pot and extending the stream as i go… screw the top onto my thermal mug… first sip, the coffee is just right… i climb the stairs to begin reading and writing…

… i read twelve Haiku by Basho… these are my morning prayers… awareness of small exquisite moments… insignificant significance because Basho was there and observed and recorded… i am here to read and imagine what was observed, whole worlds rendered within three lines… the translation makes no attempt to hold to Haiku syllable structure, only three lines and the moment evoked… this sets me free to write Haiku in English if i care to… it sets me free to make assemblages of words that are minimal but open cosmic doors…

… what i learn from Basho… it’s the exquisite small moments that matter most…