I've learned from you
Beyond translated speech.
Blades give life
You've shown:
Cuts, holes and scratches
Don't harm or hurt this time.
But rather
Your knife cuts the umbilical chord
Of branch, of trunk
From earth mother
And wood breathes
Life of its own.
Your knife clears the surface
Off any obstruction
I see only the essence.

I'm only smiling
At what you've carved
A creation
Smiling back at me.

​

                   ©Gawani Domogo-Gaongen

 

                       photography©
   MAKIKO UI / JUNYA OZASA / ТОНЯ