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.
~
