We’ve had some bad weaker the last two mornings, so I was doing tai chi outside in the grass. I left a pair of deep, deep footprints in the lawn at e place where I did qi gong, and some of my tai chi footprints were distinguishable even as I did my Druidry practice.

Of course, I’m going to write another poem today. The evidence from my stats suggests that people haven’t been all at interested in the poetry. It’s a change from what they intended to find when they first started reading, perhaps. Oh well. It’s my current internal project to write a poem about each step in the form, so the evidence is that I’ll be writing sonnets daily until … Let’s see… Opening, circled hands, ward off left, ward off right, roll back, press, push, single whip, stand like tree, shoulder strike, white heron spreads wings, brush knee/twist step, playing pipah, brush knee/twist step, grab needle at the sea floor, spread hands like fan, throat strike, push, false close, retreat to the mountain camp, ward off left, ward off right, roll back, press, push, single whip, golden pheasant left, golden pheasant right, kick left, kick right, half-spin, kick with heel, bounce the baby, box ears with fists, ward off left, ward off right, roll back, press, push, single whip, Buddha’s twist (not its name but what I called it after I couldn’t remember its name), step back to drive the monkey away, cloud hands, spiral inward, diagonal single whip, elbow defense, fair lady works the shuttles 1, fair lady works the shuttles 2, fair lady works the shuttles 3, fair lady works the shuttles 4, ward off left, ward off right, roll back, press, push, single whip, step to the seven stars, bend the bow, double fist, ride the tiger, full spin, windmill kick, left-hand push, closing.

There is that terrifying moment when you realize you’ve committed yourself to writing another fifty-five sonnets that have to use the very limited rhyme schemes of words like left, foot, hip, right, hand, elbow and knee, though. That moment would be now.

I’ll still be at this project through the end of September, it seems. Wish me luck!

Today’s movement is shoulder strike:

Bring feet together, close hands to the chest
or not quite there —and flex the wrists as well.
Left hand guards head, to swat away a pest,
as right hand defends the left armpit well.
Retain all weight in the left foot for now,
but step to the side with the right foot lightly.
Then level the hips and, like a ship’s bow,
shift your weight from left to right so slightly
that your shoulder arrives after your hip
and left leg follows, with just a touched toe—
Sweep the right arm down, as fist forms from grip;
push left hand to right armpit strong and slow.
Balance with bent knees, all weight on the right,
and lengthen spine with the abdomen’s might.

It occurs to me at this point that I should ask if anyone has tried doing these first few moves from the directions I’ve given poetically.  Are they working? Are they confusing? Where are they clear and where are they murky?

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