Sunday, February 21, 2021

TEN OLD MONK POEMS (3) 

 DON'T ASK YOURSELF

Don't ask yourself,
You might not like

what you answer,
the old monk says.

That's the whole plot
in a few simple words.

~

THE STARS ARE

The stars are shifting,
the old monk said.

The horses have run
away, yet the stars

don't worry. Every
moment is tomorrow.

~

WE HAVE SO MUCH

We have so much
infinity,
the old monk said.
It never ends.

~

IF YOU DON'T

If you don't do
what you always do,
the old monk said,

you may not do
what you need to.

~

I HAVE SAID

I have said so much,
the old monk said,
the silence is full.

~

WHEN I SEE

When I see the same thing
I say the same thing,
the old monk said,

when saying something new
wouldn't be fruitful.

~

THE MOON

The moon
opens the sky,
the old monk says.

The pines sing
an old song.

Listen:
the night says

How long,
how long?

~

LEARNING THIS

Learning this silence,
the old monk says,

prepares you for
the next one.

~

YOU CANNOT

You cannot
mean silence,
the old monk says,

when you keep
speaking in words.

~

WHEN YOU KNOW

When you know,
the old monk says,
you know

you can say
nothing.

You own
your silence.

The silence
owns you.

~



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