Doris Lynch

Cycles of Life

We’re visiting Bali for the first time, my husband, daughter, and I. We’re surprised that it’s a major Hindu holiday. “If you take off your shoes and borrow a sarong, you may enter the temple today,” a man with an immense Balinese smile invites. “Make sure you choose one that covers your knees.” While I’m admiring my outfit, he adds, “But if it’s your time of the month, please honor our beliefs and don’t enter.” A series of thoughts race through my brain.  We’ll never return, and I really want to see this. Do most women follow this restriction? And if I don’t, how would he ever know? But how can I not support their traditions? Feeling immensely disappointed, I slip off the bright yellow sarong. As my husband and daughter enter the temple, annoyance sets in: Who made these rules, and why are women always the forbidden ones?

island funeral

I breaststroke toward

the cremation cove  

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About the Author

Doris Lynch’s collections include Swimming to Alaska (Bottom Dog Press) and Meteor Hound, both published in 2023. She has won fellowships from the Alaska Council on the Arts, Indiana Arts Council, and the Chester H. Jones Foundation, and awards from the Poetry Society of America, Genjuan International Haibun Contest, and the Haiku Society of America Haibun Contest.

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