I could have looked over you.
You sat in the rehearsal space.
Black sweatpants and sweatshirt
As Quiet as invisible.
And yet when you lifted into present,
you lifted me as well.
Because you were Japanese-American
yet shape-shifted into every man,
dancing in an international troupe.
Because you were a warrior
and channeled it through peaceful Martial Arts
70 people tailed you through your Tai Chi life.
Because you were a living ethics lesson
you chose prison over Vietnam
quietly staying behind the line.
Because you were a surprise, always.
you chose a mid-life Baking career
and translated worker griefs to management.
Because everyone liked you everywhere
Because you loved me
for an unbroken 32 years
Because your essence still surrounds and lifts me.