I don’t often post poems, but today is my birthday (it’s already January 6th in Bali) and I will do as I please!
Kadek let me photograph her as she sprinkled holy water on the small house altar this morning. She moves gracefully, gliding like a beautiful swan. She is the inspiration for my poem.
BEAUTIFUL SWAN
In my whiteness I watch gold-skinned women in the temple garden. One climbs the stairs to apologize… “I make offerings so sorry did not see you.” It is her task to prepare my breakfast. Today she wears a teal kebaya with hot pink sash. Tiny pearls of perspiration glisten on her upper lip. I admire the sarong woven in traditional ikat style. “It is made by machine not good quality,” she wants me to know. “It’s beautiful!” I say, and it is because she is wearing it. The color combinations would not please the Western aesthetic. But this is Bali, contrived fashion rules do not apply. She carries woven trays mounded with offerings trailing clouds of incense… stopping at each altar to sprinkle holy water and pray. Who are you, beautiful swan? What is your story? Your knowledge is ancient I am awed and humbled by your mysteries. Teach me, my sister, help me understand your incomprehensible life.
writing for self-discovery 
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