Sunday, July 04, 2021
TEN OLD MONK POEMS (22)
IF YOU DON'T
If you don't leave it,
the old monk said
there's no way
you'll get it back.
~
IF IT'S NOT
If it's not as intense
as it needs to be,
the old monk says,
you're not far enough
up the mountain.
Keep climbing.
~
WHEN SOMEONE
When someone makes
that kind of promise
they're hiding something,
the old monk said.
Don't make the deal.
~
IF YOU CARRY IT
If you carry it
up the mountain,
the old monk said,
someone will
want to snatch it.
~
EVERYTHING
Everything you let go of
rolls down the mountain,
the old monk says.
That's what you've got to learn.
~
SOME OF YOUR WORDS
Some of your words
are empty,
the old monk
told his students.
Don't use them.
What is an empty
word, they asked.
It's when the cup
is broken, he said.
~
SOMETIMES I GO
Sometimes I go
all the way up
the mountain
before I figure
it out,
the old monk said.
Sometimes I don't
get it until
I'm coming down.
~
NIGHT IS ALWAYS
Night is always longer
when you live in a cave,
the old monk
told his students.
Don't be surprised by that.
~
WHEN YOU ACCEPT
When you accept
a gift, you are
making a promise,
the old monk said.
That's how it is.
You have to keep it.
~
CRICKET EVEN
Crickets even the evening,
the old monk said.
That's why we need them.
~
