I float in the saltwater pool and become Chuang Tzu’s butterfly. My finger twitches, blood pulsing into my wings, and the flutter goes all the way to China and back in a second. I count three heart beats in each wave of my breath. One-two-three. One-two-three. My rhythm sets the clocks, a cosmic waltz. I am the dance of the universe. My own estuary now, I churn self into sea. My name sails unanchored, deep above the blue.

Ten Thousand Things
she finds herself
pre-born

Kat Lehmann

is a haiku poet, a potter, and a scientist based in Connecticut, USA. Her poetry has been nominated for Best of the Net and has been honored in The Haiku Foundation Touchstone Awards (individual poem), the Haiku Society of America Harold G. Henderson Haiku Award, and Japan’s Basho-an Award. She is a judge in the inaugural Trailblazer Contest. As a give-back to the larger community, Kat seeds free copies of her books in public spaces throughout the United States, and now in more than a dozen countries, as part of her Ripples of Kindness project. Her third book, Stumbling Toward Happiness, shares her notes of self-exploration.

Author’s website: https://songsofkat.com/