Tuesday, November 30, 2021
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (67)
SOMEONE WHO
Someone who says
you can't say it
will say it
sometime later,
the old monk said.
~
IF EVERYONE
If everyone
wants it,
no one shares,
the old monk said.
~
WHERE IT SHINES
Where it shines
is because
you touch it,
the old monk says.
~
Monday, November 29, 2021
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (66)
WIDER AND WIDOW
Wider and widow
walked in a bar,
the old monk said.
That's how you
start a joke.
~
I'D LIKE TO
I'd like to copyright
what I'm going to say,
the old monk said,
but I can't write that fast.
~
THERE'S NO THERE
There's no there there
if there's no fire,
the old monk said.
~
Sunday, November 28, 2021
TEN OLD MONK POEMS (43)
THE RAIN
The rain
lets itself go, yes,
the old monk said.
~
HOW MUCH DO YOU
How much do you
want to fly,
the wind asked
the old monk.
~
THIS IS NOT
This is not
the job I want,
it's the job I got,
so let's get
on with it,
the old monk said.
~
POEM WITH
"Poem with the First
Five Lines Ending
with T" -- would that
be a good title,
the old monk wondered.
~
WANTING / DOESN'T
Wanting
doesn't fly fast enough
to get you there,
the old monk told them.
~
IF YOU CAN
If you can learn it,
you can learn it again,
the hardest lesson,
the old monk says.
~
SOMETIMES / WORDS
Sometimes
words use each other
in interesting ways,
the old monk told the poet.
~
I WRITE
I write small and smaller
until there's nothing left to say,
the old monk admitted.
~
THE TASK
The task
is to accept
the task,
the old monk said.
~
HOW FAR UNTIL
How far until
I fall off
the mountain,
the old monk
always wonders.
~
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (65)
YOUR BETTER SELF
Your better self--
he's the same size
but bigger,
the old monk says.
~
IF THEY KNOW
If they know what they want,
the old monk said,
how can you surprise them?
~
IF YOU DON'T
If you don't
like it so late,
start earlier
next time,
the old monk said.
~
Saturday, November 27, 2021
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (64)
ENOUGH WILL
Enough will get you
where you're going,
the old monk says.
~
IT'S NOT
It's not as if
he thinks
he thinks
he knows
what he's doing,
the old monk said.
~
YOU KNOW
You know
you think
you think
you know,
the old
monk said.
~
Sunday, November 21, 2021
TEN OLD MONK POEMS (42)
IF YOU THINK
If you think about
small things all day,
in the evening,
you won't,
the old monk said.
~
IS IT THE LIGHT
Is it the light
leaving or the darkness
coming in you fear,
the old monk asked him.
~
SOMETIMES / WISDOM
Sometimes
wisdom comes
before its time,
the old monk
told his master.
~
YOU WANT TO
You want to
study the universe
by breaking up
particles
that want to
stay together --
is that what
you're saying,
the old monk asked.
~
SOMETIMES / YOU EXPECT
Sometimes
you expect
to fly and
the mountain
surprises you,
the old monk said.
~
THAT'S HOW IT
That's how it begins,
the end bumps into it --
the universe,
the old monk said.
~
ALWAYS
Always
in the evening
the mountain
settles
and settles
again,
the old monk said.
~
IT'S LIKE SOMEONE
It's like someone
is trying to get
out of here when
I'm writing,
the old monk told
the poet.
~
THAT'S WHAT
That's what I like,
the way the mountain
fades to night,
the old monk said.
~
THAT WHICH IS
That which is
unexpected
is to be
expected,
the old monk said.
~
Tuesday, November 16, 2021
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (63)
YOU CAN MAKE
You can make a deal
with yourself if you think
you're trustworthy,
the old monk said.
~
WHEN YOU HEAR
When you hear it
how do you know it's him,
the old monk asked
his students.
~
IF YOU WALK
If you walk slow
you see more,
the old monk said.
If you stand still
you see everything.
~
Monday, November 15, 2021
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (62)
SOMETIMES
Sometimes
a few words
in a story,
the old monk said.
Sometimes
a few stories
in a word.
~
IF SOMEONE
If someone
wants to,
someone will,
the old monk said.
~
SOMETIMES WHAT
Sometimes what you're
looking for is up
in the shadows,
the old monk said.
Sometimes it's in
the low ground where
everything's green.
~
Sunday, November 14, 2021
TEN OLD MONK POEMS (41)
YOU CARRY
You carry the water
and you only spill
enough to cool you,
the old monk said.
~
LET GO
Let go
being afraid to
let go,
the old monk said.
~
THE CAR DIDN'T
The car didn't know
it could fly,
the old monk told
the officer.
~
NOTHING IS
Nothing is
so elemental
as stone,
the old monk said
of the mountain.
~
YOU DON'T KNOW
You don't know
until you know --
it's like
learning to read,
OFF, then ON,
the old monk said.
~
THE DEAL
The deal you need to make
you don't usually
have the heart for,
the old monk said.
~
SO MANY FLIES
So many flies --
a dozen
wanted to land
where half
a dozen
couldn't,
the old monk said.
~
I'LL NEVER DO
I'll never do that
again,
the old monk said
for the last time.
~
SO THIS IS
So this is
what love
looks like,
the old monk said
to his bowl
of ice cream.
~
ALL THOSE THINGS
All those things
you don't want to do
cross them off your list,
see what's left,
the old monk said.
~
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (61)
NO ONE LIES
No one lies about
what everyone knows,
the old monk says.
~
YOU'LL NEVER
You'll never know
how it's done
until you do it,
the old monk said.
~
EVENING
Evening
is like that,
the old monk said.
It settles.
~
Saturday, November 13, 2021
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (60)
BUT I DON'T
But I don't want
to be an old monk,
the old monk said.
~
IF LIFE
If life were like dominoes
we could play another game,
the old monk said. It's not.
~
IF YOU COULD GET IT
If you could get it
out of your system,
you wouldn't be you,
the old monk says.
~
Friday, November 12, 2021
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (59)
NOT ALL OF YOU
Not all of you
will sleep through
all of it,
the old monk said,
so someone will
see it.
~
WHEN I HAVE
When I have more to say
I write smaller,
the old monk explained.
~
IF SOMEONE
If someone will
someone won't --
the world works
against itself
that way,
the old monk said.
~
Thursday, November 11, 2021
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (58)
LONELINESS
Loneliness
and its blessings
so fill my hut
I can barely
move around,
the old monk said.
~
IF YOU COULD
If you could see how
I do it,
the old monk said,
I'd know how
you'd do it.
~
SPEAK OF
Speak of the specific
incident and don't
lose focus, the old monk
said, telling his students
what to say to the judge.
~
Wednesday, November 10, 2021
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (57)
SOMETIMES THE SILENCE
Sometimes the silence
surprises
and rings like a bell,
the old monk said.
~
FOR SOME
For some it's the motion,
for some the sensation,
for some the laying around,
the old monk said.
~
ANOTHER FRIDAY NIGHT
Another Friday night
during the pandemic,
the old monk said.
I'm halfway to Lonesome.
~
Tuesday, November 09, 2021
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (56)
YOU MAKE A PLAN
You make a plan,
it's like a box
you can't get out of,
the old monk said.
~
IF I KEEP TALKING
If I keep talking to God,
the old monk said, maybe
I'll say something worthy.
~
IF NOT
If not
this time,
sometime,
the old
monk said.
Time goes
around
like that.
~
Monday, November 08, 2021
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (55)
THIS TRICKERY
This trickery works,
but it makes you wonder,
the old monk told
the poet.
~
NOT TOO MANY
Not too many
but more than enough
is always appreciated,
the old monk said.
~
IF YOU LIFT THEM
If you lift them too far,
they'll fly, the old monk said,
explaining why he kept his
arms at his side.
~
Sunday, November 07, 2021
TEN OLD MONK POEMS (40)
FOREVER
Forever and ever
is what you say
at the end,
the old monk told them.
~
SOMETIMES YOU
Sometimes you have to
even the odds,
the old monk said.
~
IN THE FINAL
In the final moment
you know
everything was
nothing,
the old monk said.
~
DARKNESS
Darkness
is the kind of silence
which holds nothing,
the old monk said.
~
HOW FAR
How far
sorrow
is from
tomorrow,
the old monk says.
~
WHEN YOU'RE
When you're halfway there
you can't turn back,
the old monk said.
Get halfway there.
~
AS YOUR WORLD
As your world
gets smaller
all the moments
get bigger,
the old monk says.
~
HOW MUCH
How much
of what
you've got
have you
got, the
old monk
asked.
~
IT COMES TO
It comes to
nothing,
the universe,
out at the edge,
the old monk said.
~
THE GOOD ONES
The good ones
work twice,
the old monk told
quality control.
~
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (54)
IF YOU STAY
If you stay still
long enough,
the old monk says,
you can see it
begin again.
~
I CAN DECLINE
I can decline
because
I can accept,
the old monk said.
~
DON'T YOU GET IT
Don't you get it,
the old monk said.
When I am talking
to myself
I am talking to you.
~
Saturday, November 06, 2021
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (53)
SMOKE CURLS
Smoke curls,
uncurls
like wishes,
like promises,
the old monk said.
I can see it
above the river.
~
I'D MAKE YOU
I'd make you a deal,
the old monk said,
but then you'd want me
to throw in another
dozen for free.
~
YOU CAN'T SEE HIM
You can't see him
if he can't see you
peeking around the corner,
the old monk said.
Please, be careful.
~
Friday, November 05, 2021
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (52)
YOU CAN ALWAYS
You can always
do what you want
until Dad says "It's
milking time, boys,"
the old monk said.
~
ALMOST ENOUGH
Almost enough
is when you want
to be careful,
the old monk said.
And then he did
something foolish.
How like him.
~
SOMETIMES IT'S NOT
Sometimes it's not the heat
but the smoke that kills you,
the old monk warned.
~
Thursday, November 04, 2021
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (51)
HOW OFTEN
How often
can you do it,
they asked him.
The old monk said,
just this once,
while I'm still
thinking about it.
~
I THINK
I think what it is
is what it is, but
I don't know for sure,
I'm getting old,
the old monk said.
~
IF EVERYONE
If everyone likes it
but no one buys it,
raise the price,
the old monk said.
You'll make more.
~
Wednesday, November 03, 2021
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (50)
I DO IT
I do it because that's
what I do,
the old monk said.
I'm like crow.
~
SOMETIMES ON THE MOUNTAIN
Sometimes on the mountain
silence takes the wind,
the old monk said.
~
DON'T THINK OF
Don't think of
doing better
without
being better,
the old monk said.
~
Tuesday, November 02, 2021
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (50)
IN EVERY CELL
In every cell
is every cell,
the old monk told
the physiologist.
It's a Zen thing.
~
IF I HAD
If I had anything
someone would want
to steal it,
so I don't,
the old monk said.
~
SOMETIMES WHAT'S TRUE
Sometimes what's true
is so true
you just can't see it,
the old monk said.
~
Monday, November 01, 2021
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (49)
BROOM CLOSET
Broom closet --
not everyone
gets a good room,
the old monk said.
~
I TAKE IT
I take it apart,
the old monk said,
so I can put it
back together.
That's wisdom.
~
LIGHT IS
Light is
all about
shadow,
the old
monk said.
~
