My poem, Lion’s Breath, is the spotlight runner up in poetry in the new April/May issue of Ecelectica. Here is the poem:
Lion’s Breath
At yoga yesterday,
while downward dogging,
our instructor asked us
for five rounds of lion’s breath.
It’s easy—
when you exhale, stick your tongue
out as far as it will go
and with the gruesome face
that pose ensures
make the most godawful
rasping noises.
After two repetitions
I began to laugh.
I thought how wonderful
my father would have found the practice.
I imagined him lion-breathing
on the checkout line at Walmart,
during a sappy love scene
at the local twelve screen,
and at the insomniac’s gin game
under the lights at Century Village.
He’d teach technique to every child
that crossed his path
and one hundred years from today,
his descendants would still be
disrupting kindergarten nap time—
picture the peals of pure joy,
as a room of five-year-olds
discovers lion’s breath.
And here is the link to Eclectica:
http://www.eclectica.org/v23n2/toc.html
What a delightful poem. My dad would have loved teaching his grandkids Lion’s Breath, too!
mary
Mary Rohrer-Dann,
Assistant Professor of Teaching, English
The Pennsylvania State University
112 S. Burrowes Bldg.
University Park, PA 16802
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
Mary Oliver, The Summer Day
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Thanks Mary. Perfect for my dad.
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