Sunday, January 29, 2023
TEN OLD MONK POEMS (104)
WHY THE HELL
Why the hell should
anybody care, if
you don't,
the old monk
told the poet.
~
YOU TELL
You tell the truth
and they can't hear you,
the old monk noticed.
~
IF THE SKIN
If the skin is coming
off your fingers
you're praying too hard,
the old monk said.
~
SOMETIMES IT'S GOD
Sometimes it's God
and sometimes it's
the crickets that won't
shut up,
the old monk said.
~
YOU'RE NOT
You're not done
until you've been buried,
the old monk said.
~
GETTING i
Getting i to the right height
is half the writer's job,
the old monk told the poet.
~
SAY THE SAME
Say the same thing
often enough
you change it,
the old monk said.
~
IS IT GOD
Is it God attracting
the attractor attracting
the Great Attractor,
the old monk asked.
~
FIRST YOU TOUCH
First you touch the stars,
then you sleep,
the old monk said.
~
YOU CANNOT
You cannot care
because you have to,
the old monk said.
~
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (394)
IT'S FRICTION
It's friction
which helps us
go
and lets us
stop,
the old monk said.
Friction.
It's not a
bad thing.
~
THAT WHICH FLIES
That which flies,
let it fly.
The stones can't
hold the wind,
the old monk said.
~
THE EARTH
The earth
already knows
its end
among the stars,
the old monk said.
No surprise.
~
Saturday, January 28, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (393)
THAT THING
That thing you do
with your mouth,
you can turn it
into art,
the old monk
told the poet.
~
HOW MUCH
How much can you do
before you show
what you can't do,
the old monk asked
the student.
~
THAT / WHICH
That
which
is
is
which
that,
the old monk asked.
~
Friday, January 27, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (392)
HOW FAR
How far do you travel
before you get one?
Twelve miles per poem?
Fifteen? Fifty mpp,
the old monk asked the poet.
~
IF THE WORD
If the word is
drift,
you let it
drift.
If it's
not,
you make it
stay,
the old monk
told the poet.
~
LAY YOURSELF
Lay yourself down
in the deep grass
if you want a
really good sleep,
the old monk said.
~
Thursday, January 26, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (391)
IT TAKES ALL
It takes all night
for the stars to
convince themselves
of morning,
the old monk said.
~
IT WILL NEVER
It will never
be everything
you want it
to be. That's
why you start
with simple things,
the old monk said.
~
HOW BIG
How big
does a cat
have to be
to not be
a house cat?
As big as
a barn?
the old monk asked.
~
Tuesday, January 24, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (390)
IF YOU WANT
If you want to
know what's coming,
listen to the wind,
which cannot lie,
the old monk said.
~
THESE THINGS
These things
I speak of
mean nothing
to you
if you have
no river,
no mountain,
no wind,
no pines,
no moonlight,
the old monk said.
~
THAT CAT
That cat?
Don't pet it
if you need
your arm,
the old monk said.
~
Monday, January 23, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (389)
THE GRASS
The grass bends
as if it loves
knowing the wind,
the old monk said.
~
THE SILENCE
The silence I practice
is practice for
the great silence,
the old monk says.
~
HOW MANY TIMES
How many times
do two words go
bump-bump
before it means
something,
the old monk asked.
~
Sunday, January 22, 2023
TEN OLD MONK POEMS (103)
YOU WANT THEM
You want them to go sideways and they don't --
that's how we end up in situations like this,
the old monk admitted.
~
DOING WHAT
Doing what you've
done you don't have
to go all the way back
to the beginning,
the old monk told
his oldest novice.
~
IT IS TIME
It is time which
measures the size
of the universe,
the old monk told
the scientists.
~
IN THE DESERT
In the desert
you may have to drink
the camel's blood,
the old monk told
his students.
It's like drinking
the ocean.
~
YOU DON'T
You don't haul salt
across the Sahara
because you want to,
the old monk said.
~
NOT ALL
Not all that is known
is knowable
unless you've read
all the poetry,
the old monk said.
~
DON'T HIDE
Don't hide where the microphone is,
the old monk said.
~
NO ONE WANTS
No one wants the coat
with the button off,
the old monk said,
but everybody
wants to be warm.
~
MONEY IS
Money is no good
on the mountain,
that's why,
the old monk said.
That, and I'm
allergic to it.
~
DUTY IS
Duty is as much as you have to,
the old monk said.
~
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (388)
WHO KNOWS
Who knows when
the old monk is done?
Just because
he isn't talking
doesn't mean
he's finished.
~
IF I HAD
If I had a better memory,
where did I put it,
the old monk wondered.
~
AT SUNRISE
At sunrise
I practice
walking toward
the light,
the old monk said.
~
