Sunday, April 11, 2021
TEN OLD MONK POEMS (10)
WINE AND HOLINESS
Wine and holiness
are my companions,
the old monk says --
one more than the other.
~
MY HEART
My heart has
always been lazy,
the old monk says.
Heaven is
perfect for me.
~
HEAVEN WILL BE
Heaven will be home
for the homeless,
the old monk says.
Wait for it, brothers.
Wait for it, sun
on the mountain.
~
THE STARS ARE
The stars are patient
with the night,
the old monk says.
The wind in the pines,
not so much.
~
YOU CAN ASK
You can ask the tiger,
the old monk says,
but you might not like
what he has to say.
~
WHAT THE MOUNTAIN
What the mountain
doesn't say,
you don't want
to hear,
the old monk says.
~
IN THE DARKNESS
In the darkness
is where darkness
hides itself,
the old monk says.
~
ONE STANDS
One stands
on the mountain
where no one
is seen,
the old monk says.
One hears
voices
in the distance
and watches
the late afternoon
light enter
the woods,
the air glowing
green above
the moss.
Here comes old
Wang Wei himself.
Say good evening.
~
OH, YES
Oh, yes, sometimes
I confuse myself
with myself
and don't know
which way to go,
the old monk said.
And sometimes
confusion is
just what I need
to find the way.
~
OF ALL THE STARS
Of all the stars,
the old monk says,
not even
the Great Attractor
is the greatest,
for it, too, is
being pulled
even farther
into darkness --
we don't know
by what, as we
are unable to
see past God and
God's companions.
~
