Meditation at the Duck Pond

Lily pads catch light like oil spills on stagnant water.

In the center, a rock,

and a jar, balanced precariously,

but still.

So still it takes stillness to tell where center rock ends and jar begins.

From the jar's emptiness

reversed is nature:

rain falls up

and branches drink before roots.

Through still emptiness of jar

murky water meets light and air:

Clarity

After touching another living thing

it falls back to its beginning.

Gravity is persistent.

Each briefly sparkling drop goes full circle

and is absorbed

back into its sludgy starting place,

but not without

a sound

a reflection

a ripple

that rips the surface and changes everything.