Indian Clay Pot

Molded in hands of care
Old Indian lady
In a mountain village
Brown and gray swathes
of mother earth
A simple vessel, a work
of love, and life

Broken in the modern world
In a moment of forgetting
Dropped and shattered
When singular purpose
was distracted, in a
stupid argument over trivialities
Reminiscent of modern life itself

Then, as if God given
A loving hand, large
Seemingly clumsy put it
back together, more or less
Strong resin and copper wire
stretched tight around
the neck, restored
Imperfect, yet somehow better

Symbol of the connection
between old and new
The deep mystery of life
Of ancient tribal lore
Transcending cultures
Shaman and old ways
A simple clay pot
Transformed in a healing
A son's caring gesture
Beauty in renewal
Rebirth of an
Indian clay pot

~~

Dedicated to my son, Andrew
who mended the "broken pot"

Copyright ©1998
Michael David Coffey