Live Encounters Poetry & Writing Volume Five November-December 2024
A Lesson of Harmony, poems by Valentina Teclici.
A Lesson of Harmony
Osaka, Shintennoji Temple, Japan’s oldest,
guarding the world for centuries.
We climbed the steps,
steps you are not allowed to seat on.
We bowed, then got in.
Small and big statues,
fresh cut flowers, scented sticks,
half lit.
Sitting on the bench, facing the altar,
a Buddhist monk reading quietly
from a handful of wooden strips.
Sutra?
Hitting a metal bell with a spoon on his left,
after that, a wooden fish head on his right.
Two different loud sounds, perfectly timed,
drummed on the soft tapestry of monotony.
His prayer had no meaning to me,
no matter how hard I tried.
So, I quietened my mind and listen to it
with the spark that shines in each of us.
My soul was at peace, like a timeless river.
Even the Buddha’ statues seemed to be
holy prisms reflecting the harmony
of that moment’s eternity.
My Cats Don’t Belong to Me
My cats don’t belong to me.
They might belong to Ra and other Gods.
Their ancestors lived in Ancient Egypt,
being treated like goddesses and queens.
My cats’ names are not Mafdet and Basted,
but Lucky* and Shadow,
beautiful, magical creatures,
bringing me good luck every day.
My ginger tom-cat Lucky – the adventurer, the thrill seeker,
curious and fearless… the hights, the falls.
Lucky does not belong to me,
his forever growing confidence and grit.
Every day I am grateful that he chose me.
Shadow, my grey-orange patched girl cat
follows me everywhere, like my shadow.
So playful, running crazy
and hiding like a shadow in funny places,
inviting me to play hide-and-seek with her.
Shadow does not belong to me,
her grace, her playfulness.
Every day I am grateful for her loyalty,
and I am grateful she chose me.
My cats are inquisitive and very loving.
They transformed my life with their company.
I cannot feel lonely, depressed or bored.
I cannot imagine how I’ll cope with grief after they pass.
Or how they are going to cope if I’ll go first.
I have no idea how we’ll celebrate each other’s life.
Am I going to shave my eyebrows? A custom used
back in history for grieving your cat.
Am I going to write a book in their memory?
My cats don’t belong to me, I’m sure,
but I belong to them.
(April 2020)
*Lucky passed away in November 2020 at the age of 13,
after falling down from a tree.
© Valentina Teclici
Valentina Teclici, Romanian born, immigrated to New Zealand in 2002. In 1999, she completed a PhD in sociology at the University of Bucharest, with a thesis about street children. Her debut book, De la noi din gradiniţă (From our Kindergarden), Ion Creangă Publishing House,1986, was awarded a national prize. Poems and excerpts from her books for children are included in the bibliography and textbooks for primary and secondary education in Romania. She has published several books of sociology, poetry and stories for children in both Romanian and English. Her work has been translated into French, Te Reo and Spanish, and published in many magazines and anthologies in New Zealand and overseas. In 2016 and 2018, Valentina edited and translated the bilingual collection “Poetical Bridges – Poduri lirice” (Vol I & II), Scripta manent Publishing House, Ltd., Napier, that includes the work of 24 Romanian poets and 24 poets from New Zealand. Valentina has been a member of Writers’ Union of Romania since 1993, of the New Zealand Poetry Society since 2013 and of The Theosophical Society since 2022.Valentina enjoys playing the piano, painting, reading and traveling. She lives in Napier with her husband Robert and their cat Shadow.