Facebook Status – August 06, 2016 at 10:20AM

The Origami Student
by Doodleslice 2014-03-06

origami student
prepares his workspace
blue windex and soft cloth
clear of lint, clear of mind
he kneels to begin as he was taught

immaculate square
thin and crisp
white side up like in the book
first fold reveals color
blue paper laced with fierce dragons

supple fingers
patient hands
the patient mind makes the cleanest fold
he tells himself again
just like they said in the video

corner to corner
fold and unfold
the printed dragons smile and stretch
corner to corner and again
and back against themselves

thin paper
thick with folds
grows tiny
and unmanageable
it tears and is discarded

dutiful student
clears his workspace
breathes
selects a new pristine sheet
and kneels to begin again

folding and unfolding
mindful of his lessons
he massages the backs of blue dragons
arranging the dangerous angles
finally revealing the noble symmetries of the simple crane

far away

the origami master
with wrinkled eyes and wrinkled fingers
snatches a crumpled wrapper from the street
she whispers secrets kept in the creases of her smile
and in her hand the stained paper nods knowingly
grateful to find that it has wings
and breath and fire
behold a fierce paper dragon lacing a path in the immaculate blue sky