This Moment

This Moment by Margaret Chula. Katsura Press, 1995, 32 pages, hand-sewn paperback, 5½ by 8½ inches. $6.00 plus $1.00 postage from Katsura Press, P.O. Box 275, Lake Oswego, Oregon 97034 [address no longer correct]. From the moment your eyes take in Richard K. Steiner’s woodblock print of a tea whisk on the understated cover of this gentle book, you’ll know you are entering the Way of Tea. The tea ceremony in Japan has a rich history, and with this collection of 25 spaciously presented poems, Maggie invites us to sit on a small tatami and gives us sips of deep green tea as well as tranquility. If the Japanese tea ceremony traditions already attract you, this book is a must. If not, this book is an open door to a subtle new cultural experience, an experience “this moment.”

slowly

wiping the tea bowl

no thought