Summer Rain, The Full Cup

In Oregon's Willamette Valley, in the Portland Metro area, the end of summer gets dry and hot, but occasionally the marine air will succeed at driving over the coast range, not much more than hills. When it gets across, a surprise rain is quite welcome. When this happens on a weekend as it did here, I am usually happy to watch the celebration. I am sure that the foliage in Oregon, used to frequent moisture as it is, is capable of dancing in the rain that breaks a dry summer spell.

Summer Rain

The sea takes summer,
Puts it to bed for a nap.
Rain comes from the south.

And my garden gets up then
In rainy green gratitude.

My old cat comes in
To lie next to me,
Waiting for the rain to cease.
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Tea is a holy drink, or should be. This is the source of the Japanese tea ceremonies, that tea is a holy drink. I try to remember this when I brew tea.

So much has happened in my life. I notice the aging process removes things. One that happened to me, I was a many cup a day coffee drinker, even past the time that the diuretic quality of coffee was obviously a bad thing for me. A health issue pushed me to a homeopath who practices classical homeopathy within the framework of a naturopathic license as well. He did a classical intake and determined that my mate was Agaricus Muscaria. He told me I had to quit coffee for homeopathic remedies to work, also no peppermint. The essential oils. I followed instructions. It worked really well. So did quitting coffee. Now I drink mostly water, some sparkling water, and sometimes tea (I hope with reverence).

The Full Cup

On bent knee I bow
Old soul to the holy tea
That slows me, warms me.

I want a full cup of light.
I want to drink the whole draught.

Then I lay me down
And tumble on God's own mat
Placed here for us all.