I did not let my son hug me
because he did not ask
I watch him with the other
children practicing Gong Bu
spindling limbs learning
those constant corrections
then Ma Bu aches their legs
these bodies young horses
grown eager
he quick bows and
runs to hug me, again
I refuse him
because he did not ask
first first
of all the things
I don’t want to do is
not hug my son
he has always been
both archer
and arrow like me
he is a wreck of tears and
fire Kung Fu he says
calms his mind he
needs a hug and
when I ask
he refuses
we are never at war
we are more at work
in wilds full of errant wind
chamfering together
our best honest voices
learning to ask the ground
with each fresh step
how best to walk upon it