by Kathie England

What Is Your Bottom Line?

Last Saturday I discovered this poem by Daniel Skach-MillsĀ at the Lan Su Chinese Garden in Portland.

Eleven

“Don’t call it multi-tasking,

this ritual I do: lifting, pouring,

setting the pot down again

and raising the bowl to my lips.

Stepping into the tearoom,

I shake off the dust of the world.

Rinsing off the teaware,

I wash away thoughts from my mind.

Retreating an hour

from the world of men,

the only “bottom line”

is the one you are reading now.”

What is your bottom line today?