basic breakfast

Yesterday I didn't get a chance to eat before heading to Jaya Yoga for a little limbering up, in hopes that it would subdue the ball of sciatic pain smoldering in my right glutial for the last 4 days. I attended the basic class without really thinking about it, but basic was surprisingly challenging in the way that slow movements require more strength than fast ones. I was wiped out halfway through, and barely paying attention to David, the teacher, whose pokes here and there kept reminding me to turn in the shoulder blades, to raise the sternum.

He was a great teacher, and I noticed I was the only one he was poking, a reflection of how out of it I was. I'm amazed he didn't kick me out for being such a space cadet. I was very busy daydreaming about Walt Whitman, wondering what he meant with the line, "I loafe and invite my soul."

I listened to David's directives as he drove us through the landscapes of our bodies. It turns out I have body parts I didn't realize were there. I found out, for instance, in a whole new way, that I have back ribs, good pals for protecting the heart and lungs and supporting the frame, making space within it for the vital organs' proper functioning.

On the way home I paused in front of 3 Rose of Sharon bushes on the corner of 17th and 10th. They were large and healthy, pink, white and violet. As I stood in front of the white one I wondered if I would ever try one of the flowers. I was about to walk away when one of the closed flowers dropped free of its mount and landed in front of me.

Yes, I ate it, it seemed too rude not to. The first bite reminded me of the tenderest endive with a slightly floral essence. Food for fairies, no doubt. The second bite was slightly more floral and mucilaginous as it contained part of the thick pistil (?) in the center of the flower. The second bite, the same, and a little harder to take. The last bite, less floral, and more toothsome, entirely pleasant.

If I wind up adding them to a salad while I get the chance, and the chance is fading fast, I won't dress them in anything more than olive oil, salt and pepper. I don't think they'd make good pickles.