Sunday, September 19, 2021
TEN OLD MONK POEMS (33)
YOU'LL GO
You'll go
nowhere fast
if you listen
to me,
the old monk told
his students.
~
LIFE AND
Life and death --
from suddenly
to suddenly not,
the old monk says.
~
IF YOU ARE
If you are broken
when you go,
see what you can
break coming back,
the old monk said.
~
DON'T THINK
Don't think you know
the ending before you've
got the whole story,
the old monk says.
~
IT'S / THE TRUTH
It's
the truth
if
it is,
the old
monk says.
~
THE SILENCE PUSHES
The silence pushes us
as if we fall
in and out of existence,
the old monk says.
~
YOU CAN DIVIDE
You can divide them
how you want --
they will still
run together,
the old monk said.
~
YOU CAN WALK
You can walk off the mountain
but you can't walk far,
the old monk told his students.
~
WHO
Who
wants to do
what
the owl does,
the old monk asked.
~
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (11)
I HAVE A CAT
I have a cat,
the old monk said.
She inspires me.
I call her
my mews.
~
YOU THINK I COULD
You think I could
keep walking around
acting like this if
I were holy,
the old monk said.
Don't be silly.
~
WHY DO I OFFER
Why do I offer
this inferior
cup of wine?
It's what I have,
the old monk said.
~
Saturday, September 18, 2021
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (10)
I'LL STAY
I'll stay
as long as
the world
remains quiet,
the old monk
promised.
~
THEN THE SILENCE
Then the silence
then the silence
then the silence
the old monk said,
pounding the beat.
~
HOW FAR
How far
into the room
can you go
before
you're out
of room,
the old monk
wondered.
~
Thursday, September 16, 2021
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (9)
WHAT DO FIREFLIES
What do fireflies know
that crickets don't,
the old monk wondered.
They both know summer.
~
YOU KNEW
You knew who I was
when you opened the gate,
the old monk said
to his disappointed host.
~
WHEN YOU FEEL
When you feel
the earth tremble,
the old monk says,
that is the mountain's
final message.
~
Wednesday, September 15, 2021
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (8)
I'VE WAITED SO LONG
I've waited so long
to say these things,
the old monk said,
that now they don't
make much sense.
~
I CAN STAY
I can stay here
until the wind
settles down,
the old monk said.
There is no hurry.
~
THEY DO NOT
They do not
go quiet,
the cicadas,
the old monk said.
That is their
nature -- to sleep
and then to wake
and keep working.
~
Tuesday, September 14, 2021
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (7)
BE CAREFUL
Be careful
what you promise
the day,
the old monk says,
the darkness
will hold you
to it.
~
WHEN WE GO
When we go up
the mountain, some
of us know what
the mountain means,
the old monk says,
and some of us just
go up the mountain.
~
HALF WHAT I SAY
Half what I say
is the word of God,
the old monk says,
and half is
just nonsense.
~
Sunday, September 12, 2021
TEN OLD MONK POEMS (32)
I'D DO IT
I'd do it again
and show you,
the old monk said,
but I'm getting
too old for that.
~
CATS ARE
Cats are aliens,
the old monk said,
and they're here
to save us.
~
WHERE THE HEAVINESS
Where the heaviness is
is where you're dying,
the old monk says.
~
YOU CAN PULL
You can pull it,
the old monk said,
but be careful not
to pull it off.
~
THE OLD MONK SAID:
It is what
all those angels
said it would be --
eternity.
~
YOU CAN'T DRAW
You can't draw the far line
at the closest distance,
the old monk said,
unless you're Escher.
~
IS IT FAIR
Is it fair,
the old monk asked,
that the wind carries
some of us?
~
SEE
See,
the old monk said,
you wait:
something
finds you.
~
HOW BIG
How big does
the world
need to be,
the old monk asked,
to get your
attention?
~
AT THE END
They all thought they could fly,
the old monk said,
and some of them did.
~
Wednesday, September 08, 2021
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (6)
WHAT DO I OFFER
What do I offer
when the candle sputters?
the old monk said.
More wine and
a blanket.
~
I WRITE
I write
so I can
remember
what I wrote,
the old monk
says.
~
ALL THESE YEARS
All these years
and it comes to this,
the old monk said.
What a disappointment.
~
