No Answer To My Riddle, 2024
9:43
She is having a tea party all alone. She finds comfort in the trees and the sounds of leaves in the wind. When she was young she believed the wind would tell her things. Guide her towards something the universe knew that she needed to be near.
THE NEST
She must layer the earth to create her place among the forest.
A place of impermanent space that will go as easily as it has come.
The basket is placed.
She sets up the party. A setting for her brother and sister, whom she misses dearly.
First, the dishes are set.
Then the cloth.
Gently, she wipes each cup clean and places them neatly.
The chime of the ceramics is cleansing and pure.
THE GATHERING
Now that the nest is made, it is time to gather.
She walks along the riverbed, gathering as many stones as she can carry.
She forages through the forest floor, finding the most beautiful fallen leaves and blades of grass.
She carries the teapot to the waterfall, collecting water.
It’s cool and clean.
Each gathering is taken back to the nest where it is cared for meticulously.
THE POUR
Now sitting at the party, she looks at all she has gathered.
She starts with stone.
Grinding and grinding and grinding it up into a fine powder.
It is made up of stardust and earth; an allegory of dreams she cannot remember.
The dust is the first ingredient.
She then holds the foliage and gently crumples them in her palms.
Each fragment, uniquely synergistic.
The leaf is the second ingredient.
She holds the blades of grass between her fingers, inspecting them, deciding.
She breaks them once.
Opening up their energy and throwing them into the pot.
The herb is the third ingredient.
She mixes and stirs.
She lets it steep.
She pours.
One cup after another.
THE CONSUMING
She looks at the party she's prepared.
She thinks about those absent.
She drinks.
One cup after another.
THE RITUAL
She stands.
Just for a moment, she is still.
She looks at what she's done.
She looks and looks and looks and looks.
Searching for something unknown.
She searches until she can search no more.
She stands.
Just for a moment, she is still.
