after Liu Tsung-yuan

Yesterday after a long dry season
the pond began to fill
I grabbed a rake
pulled weeds and leaves out of the feeder stream
that runs along our fence
I've never known exactly where the water comes from
only that it flows down from the hills above

All summer long the pond was a brown basin
of dry cracked mud
now once again the shimmering surface
reflects the life that lines the bank
blackthorn and elder
ash and oregon grape
a blur of green bamboo
the pond a watercolor
rendered by Monet

Overnight the landscape has regained
what it had lost to summer's drought
a mirror hiding the murky depths
that nurture tadpoles, turtles, frogs and fish
food for long-legged herons
loudmouthed kingfishers

The rising waters
dark under dark skies
nourish what is most alive in us
teaching our minds to dance as the pond dances
its surface glinting in the midday rain light