To Trust the Floor

Irimi...

Entering,

Raise your hands,

Raise your eyes,

Raise your mind,

Watch,

Settle to stillness,

Listen.

Ukemi,

To trust the floor,

Become a ball,

Fall.

Eye to eye,

Toe to toe,

The memory of hesitation,

Disappears in the silence,

In the moment,

Before the strike,

Yes,

The hands know the air,

The body knows the motion,

I trust the floor.

Aikido,

The way

of adapting the spirit,

The way

of moving,

Dance of gentlest death.

Irimi...

--I do not fear the night.