Màn màn zǒu (Slowly, slowly walk)
慢慢走 Màn màn zǒu, they say.
Slowly, slowly, walk, they say.
Walk slowly, unhurried, easefully.
An expression commonly uttered by the living and by ancestors, the Unseen living.
Slowly, as our feet touches the ground tenderly,
Unhurried, as a blessing to be carefree,
Easefully, as each step is protected and guided.
As even walking is a devotional act of heart-mind-body, an act so ordinary and mundane for me, yet holy for my ancestors to care about.
And Do You Remember
And do you remember when you lifted me with one arm, as if I were a backpack filled with air, as we walked to the park with the big yellow slide down the road?
And do you remember how you marveled at the corollas of seasonal blooms, and how you would say that we should take our lessons from flowers?