The Sound of a Circle: Nepali Singing Bowl By Luci Shaw I balance it on the hollow of my left palm so that its base rests on my hand’s bones. Cool, flawless, an unbroken circle, the rim a ring of light— brass-bright from a polishing rag and only a little rubbing. Like a pen outlining the shape of the world I draw the wooden baton around its perimeter with my right hand, moving it against the curved lip slowly, smooth as a wing in flight, so as not to start a shiver against the metal. And again. Five orbits of the little hemisphere. Listen: At first, a low drone, then higher, a treble voice filling the hollow, circling the room, fluid as a bell of water. When I lay the instrument back on its shelf, the sound dies, but not the music. ~Luci Shaw ~~~~~ Next: Light Gathering January