Sunday, April 04, 2021
TEN OLD MONK POEMS (9)
IN THE DARKNESS
In the darkness
any star's light
will do,
the old monk says.
Let it
shine on you.
~
IF YOU UNDERSTOOD
If you understood,
the old monk said,
we wouldn't even
be talking.
~
IT DOES TAKE
It does take much darkness
to scare up a poem,
the old monk said.
~
THE OLD MONK'S STORY
We must be who we are,
the fly said to the frog.
The frog said Gulp.
~
A POEM'S LIKE
A poem's like a joke
that's really hard to tell,
the old monk said.
~
THE MONK LIVES
The monk lives his
holy silence.
Even the deer
in the shadow
knows the saint's
great patience.
~
HE COULD
He could give it all
up for silence,
the old monk said,
speaking of another
old poet. Well,
except for the wind
and the music
and maybe the poems.
O, and chasing
the women, on the off
chance he'd catch one.
~
HOW MANY
How many tricks can you do,
they asked the old monk.
How many cards are in the deck,
he responded.
~
THE GALLOPING STARS
The galloping stars,
the old monk says,
all those horses
running away and
not coming back.
~
WHAT DO
What do
I have to
tell myself
so I know
what I mean,
the old monk
wondered.
~
