Third of Five
Two Page Openings from
The Way We Live
by Burt Kimmelman  

Robin, Spring The robin, claws hidden in tall grass, hops forward and sings a solitary note, hops once more, stopping to sing two notes, which loop through the air, then tilts its head to eye the ground, flies off to a nearby tree.	..	Late November in the South Mountain Reservation The day has taken on a plan in the brief warmth of a late fall sun, so Diane and I start our walk through the bare trees, having left the car in a drift of wet red leaves by the road — no deer, no bird either, but the stone bridge ahead, and beyond it the waterfalls. We climb alongside the cold spray to reach the stream above, soft spot of the mountain, where it might yield to us, where we sit and pour tea from a thermos, sipping it out of paper cups, and I think of the chanoyu ceremony,* as we watch the light on wet rocks.   * Japanese tea ceremony otherwise known as The Way of Tea, which involves the ritual preparation and presentation of particularly green tea.