a little heart hymn

give me clean hands clean
words clean thoughts. open my eyes—
green cabins, green trees
white clouds white candles white birch
blue jacket blue lake blue skies

—dotty seiter

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Notes about poem and art:
• “a little” is a Takodah tanka to wrap up camp for this summer, holding words from the morning prayer recited every day at camp and holding the colors and simplicities of Takodah that I have tucked in my heart at all times.
• The first two photos above show summer 2026’s living work in progress at the stage where Caroline had received three paper tiles at camp and displayed them on the cabin wall beside her bed, a fourth was in the mail room at camp, a fifth was in the hands of the USPS somewhere between my home and Takodah, and the remaining three sat in eager readiness at my home awaiting their turn to travel. All nine tiles have now made it safely to Virginia where Caroline has them displayed on the wall in her room at home (third photo). Hail, Hail, the Gang’s All Here!