thread

my old kendo sensei was someone
who struck me as being deeply
rooted in tradition.
he was strict but it was that
strict treatment that first
taught me something about discipline.

and yet, I couldn't endure it so
I quit the dojo.
I was afraid,
afraid of being called out,
criticized in front of others.

he was not the type to go easy on you
because you were new,
nor the type to offer
words of encouragement,
if you were working hard.
but he sure as hell would point out
your lack of kiai,
flaws in your form,
or anything which he saw as the
wrong attitude.

he always said,
en wo kiru na!
meaning, don't
end the relationship,
don't
cut the invisible
thread that connects
you and your opponent.

as soon as you look away from their
eyes or let your focus on them falter,
that thread has been cut, and at that moment
you have already lost.

---

there is a thread that connects us
to everyone else in the world.
we can increase,
or decrease the length of that thread,
manipulating the distance as we wish.

but to cut the thread is something we cannot do,
because in this world
of 7 billion people,
we are all entangled by that
red, invisible, yet indestructible
thread of fate.

I can still hear quite vividly in my mind
his voice,
shouting,
縁を切るな！