Note about the poem and illustration: This poem was written on March 1, 1997, after I had a dream about a koi pond in the moonlight. For Richard's birthday in March 1997, I included this poem along with the illustration presented here, rendered in Aquarelle colored pencils, India ink, and gold Decorator pen on textured white paper. (Note: A year-and-a-half after Richard's passing in December 2001, Savya Lee returned this card to me along with a few other pieces of correspondence I had sent Richard over the years.)

The symbolism in this picture is based on my dream and also anthropologist Angeles Arrien's The Tarot Handbook: Practical Applications of Ancient Visual Symbols, a book Richard introduced to me. Richard's "Personality Symbol" was 18 which correlates to The Moon Tarot card, and his "Soul/Spiritual Symbol" was 9 which correlates to The Hermit Tarot card. According to Arrien, The Moon is astrologically associated with the sign of Pisces, hence the representation of the two fishes in this illustration. (The Hermit is astrologically associated with the sign of Virgo.)

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