sauna door clicks shut
birch water ladled
over volcanic rocks
heat rises
edging on unbearable
the tired monk
thinks of poems
as he soaps his head
razor slicks foam
slides on sweat
smooth and renewed
steam and prayers escape
via the tiny door crack
up through barren branches
and white pine needles
Wonderful. I can see him thinking of poems as he soaps his head......love the branches and pine needles at the end.
ReplyDeleteAh, now I better understand your comment at P&SU. This experience does sound like a sensual delight. It's, sadly, not an experience I've had, nor am I likely to now, but you recreate it so vividly here that I can almost enter into it.
ReplyDeleteTo me a monk means a man or a woman in hermitage and in saffron. This poem creates a different picture but very vividly visual.
ReplyDeletesteam and prayers escaping together... that's such a great way to put it...
ReplyDeleteA sauna does seem like a good place for contemplation. I think the steam would be wonderfully relaxing for the body so the mind can wander freely.
ReplyDeleteAs a woman who experiences the joy of hot tubs and saunas every week in our local senior recreation center .... I certainly relate to your splendid poem. Minus, the head shaving.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure that I would want an outdoor sauna.
ReplyDeleteYour thought, "thinks of poems", I too think poems but photos for my other Friday blog for the other. We go through the alphabet twice a year. It is a meme sort, a lot(?) of my friends and relatives read it.
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That's a lovely description of a sauna. I especially like the last four lines..
ReplyDelete