Sick with an ordinary cold
Nothing to do but wait it out
And feel sorry for myself
For missing class
Instead I settle in with videos
Random classes decades ago
Years before even my teacher
First heard of Aikido
Awkward, white-belted beginners
Fresh-faced, eager, nameless ukes
Who have these people become?
Teachers? Writers? Leaders?
Do I know them?
Are they the ones showing the way now?
Do I go to their seminars?
Read their books?
I think of our time, my fellow students,
Even the awkward, nameless ones
Who will we have become
When people look back on us?
