Monday, May 31, 2021

IN SOME LANGUAGE (58) 


In some language
the word for crow
also means coyote
and mischeif.



Sunday, May 30, 2021

TEN OLD MONK POEMS (17) 


ADVICE IS LIKE

Advice is like rice,
the old monk said.
You have to cook it.

~

EVEN AFTER THE BELL

Even after the bell
rings, if the teacher
is still talking,

the old monk said,
listen.

~

A NEW ROBE

A new robe
won't make
a better
man of me,
the old monk says,
but it might
keep me warmer.

~

YES, YES,

Yes, yes,
the old monk said,

you have good questions.
But you have yet to see

if they'll get you
on the mountain.

~

THE SOUND OF THE STARS

The sound of the stars
is what keeps me awake,
the old monk said.
They keep talking.

~

WELL, HERE IT COMES

Well, here it comes again,
the old monk said,

this emptiness,
and I didn't have to go

to New Mexico for it.

~

I'D TELL YOU

I'd tell you,
the old monk said,
but then it wouldn't
be a secret.

~

ONE HAND

One hand on the throttle
and one on the brake,
that's how you go
down the mountain,
the old monk said,

~

THIS IS HOW

This is how it works,
the old monk said,

pulling the hood
over his head.

Then he disappeared.

~

NOTICE

Notice how the rain
falls down,
the old monk said.

Think like that, like
the falling rain.

~



WHERE THE STARS 


Where the stars
are what pulls at
us pulls us.



Saturday, May 29, 2021

IN SOME LANGUAGE (57) 


In some language
the word for soup also means
more mouths to feed.



Friday, May 28, 2021

STOPS 


Stops
the heart.

Wind
in bare

trees.
The blue

sky.



Thursday, May 27, 2021

IN SOME LANGUAGE (56) 


In some language
the word for mouse
also means silence.



Wednesday, May 26, 2021

WE WANT TO SEE 


We want to see
the purple sky,

blue and red,
just after the sun

goes down. It means
evening comes.



Tuesday, May 25, 2021

IN SOME LANGUAGE (55) 


In some language
the word for rain
also means harvest.



Monday, May 24, 2021

STARS 


Stars
in the water.

Even the wind
calms for them.



Sunday, May 23, 2021

TEN OLD MONK POEMS (16) 


SOMEONE

Someone I held
hands with, she

talked to God,
the old monk said.

~

IF YOU DON'T

If you don't eavesdrop
or listen for trains,

how do you know
what's coming,

the old monk asks.

~

WHAT I LIKE

What I like
is what I would like,
the old monk said.

~

WHERE DO YOU

Where do you get
your crazy ideas,

they asked
the old monk.

He said,
I listen to the stars.

~

DON'T WORRY

Don't worry
about it,

the old monk said.
Another

for you and
two for me

and we're good.

~

IF THEY LOCKED UP

If they locked up
every old monk,

the old monk said,
the prisons would fly!

~

SOMETIMES

Sometimes
you sit atop
a 50-foot pole

and are thought
a saint,
the old monk says.

Sometimes
you are
a saint.

~

DOES THE WALL

Does the wall
honor the bricklayer,

or the one who
made the bricks,

the old monk asks.

~

TRYING TO UNDERSTAND

Trying to understand
the difference between

said and says,
the old monk

just doesn't get it.
He'll tell you that himself.

~

DON'T HAGGLE

Don't haggle,
the old monk said.

I know what it's worth
and you know what it's worth.

Pay a fair price and
get out of here.

~


IN SOME LANGUAGE (54) 

 
In some language
the word for stubbornness
also means wind.



Saturday, May 22, 2021

THIS STILLNESS 


This stillness
is what it is,

closing the door
to darkness.



Friday, May 21, 2021

IN SOME LANGUAGE (53) 


In some language
the word for willow
also means wait.



Thursday, May 20, 2021

WIND AS FAST 

 
Wind as fast
as the stars,

the trees
standing still.



Wednesday, May 19, 2021

IN SOME LANGUAGE (52) 

 
In some language
the world for before
also means after
and again.



Tuesday, May 18, 2021

EVEN 


Even in my dreams
coyote sings.



Monday, May 17, 2021

IN SOME LANGUAGE (51) 


In some language
the word for whistle
as means wind.



Sunday, May 16, 2021

TEN OLD MONK POEMS (15) 


MONK ROBES

Monk robes mean nothing
to the children.
They laugh and throw stones.
The old monk keeps talking.

~

A CUP OF WINE

A cup of wine
is the only

happiness
the old monk has.

Soon he will
have another.

~

I LIVE

I live in
the Valley of Fools,
the old monk says,

and look pretty
normal.

~

GET LOST

Get lost
on the mountain,
the old monk says,

the mountain
will find you.

~

IF LOAFING

If loafing meant
baking bread,
the old monk said,

I would be
better fed.

~

I CARRY MY HOME

Sometimes
I carry my home

in the sack
on my back,

the old monk says.
It isn't much,

but it's the home
I've got.

~

YOU TALK

You talk to no one
on the mountain,
the old monk said.
The wind is enough.

~

I HAVE SAT STILL

I have sat still so long,
the old monk says, now
stone calls me brother.

~

HOW DO I SURVIVE

How do I survive,
the old monk said.
Sometimes it’s the stars,
sometimes the berries.

~

HOW MUCH

How much do I have left
is a question you never
want to be in the position
of having to ask,
the old monk said.

~



HAWK'S EYES 


Hawk's eyes
and wings
and claws,

enough
with sun.



Saturday, May 15, 2021

IN SOME LANGUAGE (50) 


In some language
the word for horse
also means wind.



Friday, May 14, 2021

DEER TRACKS 


Deer tracks
in the side

yard, as if
this too

is nature.



Thursday, May 13, 2021

IN SOME LANGUAGE (49) 


In some language
the word for fire
also means desire.

It also means
evening star.



Wednesday, May 12, 2021

THE VANISHING POINT 


The vanishing point
is ever farther,
the farther you go.

The horizon
keeps moving too.



Tuesday, May 11, 2021

IN SOME LANGUAGE (48) 


In some language
the word for nothing
also means God,.



Monday, May 10, 2021

A ROAR OF HARLEYS 


A roar of Harleys,
a long rumble of them

coming through town--
spring.



Sunday, May 09, 2021

TEN OLD MONK POEMS (14) 


YOU GET

You get all
the silence
you invite,
the old monk said.

~

DOES A MONK

Does a monk
ever know
that he's a saint,
they asked.

Does the mule
know that he's
half a jackass,
the old monk said.

~

SOMETIMES THE TIGER

The old monk says,
sometimes the tiger
means business

and sometimes
you can pull his tail.
Don't get it wrong.

~

WHAT'S OVER

What's over the horizon,
the old monk says,
is not over its horizon.

~

HOW FAR ARE

How far are those
stars whose light

will never reach us,
the old monk wondered.

Farther than
imagination.

~

WHEN I SAY

When I say I know,
the old monk said,

I'm not saying
anything.

~

YOU WANT TO DEAL

You want to deal
with the devil,
the old monk said.

Go down to the crossroads.
He'll look like me.

~

STOP WEARING OUT

Stop wearing out the stars
trying to write all night,
the old monk told himself.

Do you think he listened?

~

I UNDERSTAND

I understand
how many places

I can stand
to be standing here,

the old monk said.
Every place.

~

THERE'S NOT SO MUCH

There's not so much
you can want

that you can't
want more,

the old monk
berated them.

~



IN SOME LANGUAGE (47) 


In some language
the word for strength
also means good woman.



Saturday, May 08, 2021

EVENING 


Evening.
The insistent crickets.
A creaking gate.


Friday, May 07, 2021

FAILED MISSION TO MARS 


The mistake they'll make
is failing to send

a poet to Mars.
You can't colonize

the universe
without poetry.



Thursday, May 06, 2021

IN SOME LANGUAGE (46) 


In some language
the word for flattery
also means big wind.



Wednesday, May 05, 2021

SHADOW 


Shadow
the other side
of light.


Tuesday, May 04, 2021

IN SOME LANGUAGE (45) 


In some language
the word for horse
also means wind.



Sunday, May 02, 2021

TEN OLD MONK POEMS (13) 


DON'T MAKE IT

The old monk says
don't make it sound
like I know something.
I don't.

~

IF YOU KEEP

If you keep doing nothing,
the old monk says,
pretty soon you'll be done.

~

I CAN'T SAY

I can't say
what what I say

is worth,
the old monk said.

I just want
a bowl of soup.

~

EVEN AFTER

Even after arguing,
the old monk says,
a friend comes back.

~

UPSIDE DOWN

Upside down and backwards,
the old monk says,
the only way some things make sense.

~

IF I COULD WRITE

If I could write
like Shakespeare,
the old monk said,

would I be holding
this beggar bowl?

~

I CAN LOOK

The old monk says,
I can look at me
and can look at you

and can see the devil
looking at us.

~

WHAT YOU HAVE

The old monk says,
Sometimes what you have
is all you get.

Even the stars
know this.

~

COUNT LIKE

Count like a poet,
the old monk says.
It's easy math.


~

HOW FAR

How far
do I want to go?
the old monk said.

All the way to
the gate and back.

~


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