Thursday, December 30, 2021

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (92) 

 
BEGINNING

Beginning,
middle,

end -- it
doesn't

matter
where,

the old
monk said.

You just
need to

be there.

~

INSOMNIA

Insomnia,
the old monk said,

that which is
when sleep is

perchance.

~

HE DOESN'T KNOW

He doesn't know
he knew that,
the old monk said.
Don't tell him.

~



Wednesday, December 29, 2021

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (91) 


AH, SUNSET

Ah, sunset.
Sometimes light

makes its own
deal with night,

the old monk said.

~

WHEN THEY SPEAK

When they speak to me
they tell their stories,

the stars,
the old monk said.

~

SOMETIMES THE BRONC-BUSTER

Sometimes the bronc-buster
breaks them and sometimes

he gets broke,
the old monk said.

~



Tuesday, December 28, 2021

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (91) 


IT'LL BE

It'll be
what you want
it to be

until no one
else wants it,
the old monk says.

~

WHAT CAN YOU KNOW

What can you know
if you don't know the stars,
the old monk asked him.

The physicist said,
I'm more theoretical than that.

~

COULD HE BE

Could he be
stranger

if he's already
a stranger,

the old monk
wondered.

~



Sunday, December 26, 2021

TEN OLD MONK POEMS (47) 


DON'T SAY

Don't say six
when you mean
half a dozen,
the old monk said.

~

I AM NOT

I am not
expressing myself,
the old monk told
the poet.
I am expressing
the universe.

~

LIKE PHOTOGRAPHY

Like photography
poetry is
about waiting
the old monk said.

~

SOMETIMES / ONE IS

Sometimes
one is

lonely
where only

one is,
sometimes

in a crowd,
the old monk said.

~

LOVE AND

Love and loss
are twin sisters,
the old monk said.

~

NOT EVERYTHING

Not everything
is something --
some of it
is nothing,
the old monk said.

~

LIKE AN OWL

Like an owl
taking a bat
out of the air,
death is
that sudden,
the old monk said.

~

IF YOU DON'T

If you don't know
what to say,
don't say that,
the old monk said.

~

PAINT LIPS

Paint lips on
all the great
monuments --
now that would
be art,
the old monk said.

~

IN SOME SCALES

In some scales
E-flat is where
C wants to go,
the old monk
told the band.

~



THREE OLD MONK POEMS (90) 


SO MUCH

So much
that I would

like to
but not enough

that I can,
the old monk

complained.

~

SOMETIMES

Sometimes
he understands

he doesn't
understand,

the old monk said.
Sometimes

he doesn't.

~

SOMETIMES I'M LUCKY

Sometimes I'm lucky
to find my way to breakfast,
the old monk admitted.

~



Saturday, December 25, 2021

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (89) 


THE LESSONS

The lessons of a good poem
lie beyond its boundaries,
the old monk said to the poet.

~

HOW MUCH HEAVEN

How much heaven
can we stand?
Even the stars
don't know,
the old monk says.

~

IF YOU DON'T WAIT

If you don't wait for it to close,
you won't get your shirt caught,
the old monk said.

~



Friday, December 24, 2021

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (88) 


COHERENCE

Coherence does not inhere in life.
You have to make up the narrative,
the old monk said.

~

THE MEASUREMENT

The measurement
is not that which

measures, not
the thing measured,

the old monk says.
It's what you're left

with when you're done
trying to make sense.

~

IN THE POEM

In the poem some pattern
must repeat, or seek to.
That's what, in the moment,
keeps us from death,
the old monk told the poet.

~



Thursday, December 23, 2021

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (87) 


YOU HAVE ALREADY

You have already thought
what you are thinking
when you think it,
the old monk says.

~

IF LANGUAGE

If language
could be pure

enough to
say what we

see, we could
tell the truth.

Alas,
the old monk said.

~

A POEM IS NOT

A poem is not
some chaos, but

an organization
you haven't yet

come to understand,
the old monk told

the student
who complained.

~



Tuesday, December 21, 2021

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (86) 


YOU WILL HAUL

You will haul
both the beautiful

and the sublime
up the mountain

in a small, red
wheelbarrow,

the old monk says.
They come as a set.

~

IF YOU SEE

If you see
God on the mountain
you will not
come back to us,
the old monk said.

~

THE MOUNTAIN

The mountain
is still

the mountain
when it

goes still,
the old monk says.

~



Monday, December 20, 2021

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (85) 


THEY COME BECAUSE

They come because
they want to,

all those sounding
in the darkness,

the old monk says.

~

YOU CAN KNOW

You can know
only so much

before the stars
give out,

the old monk says.

~

THE MOUNTAIN

The mountain
touches the sky

at the moment
the sky

touches the mountain,
the old monk said.

That's how love is.

~



Sunday, December 19, 2021

TEN OLD MONK POEMS (46) 


IF YOU DON'T

If you don't leave
your hometown

you remain only
the sum of

what you've done,
the old monk says.

~

THE THINGS WE SAID

The things we said --
how dumb we were,
the old monk thought.

~

IF YOU TAKE

If you take it outside
you have to pay a fee

to get it back in,
the old monk warned them.

~

TOMORROW

Tomorrow
is never
tomorrow --

it can only
be today,
the old monk says.

~

THE RAIN

The rain --
like God

loving us,
the old monk said.

~

WHAT'S AFTER

What's after where the end is,
the old monk asked,
speaking to the universe.

~

YOU WERE ALREADY

You were already there
in that first moment
of the Big Bang,

the old monk said.
The stars knew you then.

~

WHEN I'VE FILLED

When I've filled
the emptiness

with poems,
I'll be done,

the old monk said.

~

WHO PUT YOU

Who put you
here,

in this moment,
for what --

answer that,
the old monk

told his students.

~

IF YOU WANT

If you want to,
why don't you --

you've got every
excuse in the book,

the old monk told
a student.

~



THREE OLD MONK POEMS (84) 


EXPLAINING

Explaining
yourself
to yourself
is beyond
explaining,
the old monk says.

~

Is it,
the old monk asked.
Are you sure?

~

YOU CANNOT TURN

You cannot turn
straight away,
the old monk says.

~



Saturday, December 18, 2021

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (83) 


THE LAST ONE

The last one always
knows where the end is,
the old monk says.

~

HOW FAR OFF

How far off is it
when it's that far off,
the old monk asked them.

~

THEY DON'T COME

They don't come
one at a time,

they come
in bunches,

these odd notions,
the old monk said.

~



Friday, December 17, 2021

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (82) 


WE DREAM

We dream
because sleep alone
is not enough,
the old monk said.

~

I DON'T SAY MUCH

I don't say much
when I'm done talking.
Be like that,
the old monk told
his students.

~

YES, I'VE NOTICED

Yes, I've noticed,
the old monk said,
the younger they are,

the later they come home
the next morning.

~



Wednesday, December 15, 2021

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (81) 


YOU CAN MAKE

You can make
a deal with

the devil
or you can

listen to me,
your choice,

the old monk said.

~

A DOZEN

About a dozen may not
be as many as twelve
if you're not counting
when you're buying,
the old monk says.
It's seldom more
when you're selling.

~

IF I WERE YOUNGER

If I were younger
I could show you how

I did it, because
then I'd remember,

the old monk said.

~


Tuesday, December 14, 2021

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (80) 


SOMEONE

Someone will show you
if you don't show them first,
the old monk says.

~

EVERYTHING YOU WANT

Everything you want to say
is there,
if you listen to the stars,
the old monk said.

~

JUST WHAT I WANT

Just what I want
isn't all I want,
the old monk told
his master.

~



Monday, December 13, 2021

TEN OLD MONK POEMS (49) 


WHEN YOUR SOUL

When your soul
needs some darkness

is when the devil
makes his offer,

the old monk said.

~

THEY WON'T KNOW

They won't know
it's poetry
until long after
I'm dead,
the old monk
told the poet.

~

AT THE END

At the end
you will want
more time.
Thing about
that now,
the old monk said.

~

A MAGICIAN'S TRICKERY

A magician's trickery
is not enough
when you're trying
to fool God,
the old monk said.

~


LOVE IS LIKE

Love is like
the sun rising,
a new day,
the old monk said.

~

WU IS NOT

Wu is not
the shaman
who only
stands between
man and god,
the old monk said.

~

THE GODS BLESS

The gods bless
the emptiness
that we might
find ourselves
in it,
the old monk said.

~

THERE CAN BE

There can be
no cause

is there is
no before --

hence, the
universe

springs from
nothing,

the old monk said.

~

TRUE, YOU CAN'T

True, you can't
go to heaven

without first
going through hell,

the old monk said.
And you can't

go through hell
without hope

chasing you.

~

SOME OF US

Some of us
are bees and
some are flowers.
Some of us
are hawks and
some are mice,
the old monk said.
The best of us
are both.

~



THREE OLD MONK POEMS (79) 


GOSSIP

Gossip
isn't actually

what gossip
is,

the old monk says.
It's emptiness

masquerading
as meaning.

~

FAILURE

Failure goes
but it doesn't
go far,
the old monk said.

~

Everything
you promise yourself

is coming,
the old monk says,

but check the bill
of lading.

~



Sunday, December 12, 2021

TEN OLD MONK POEMS (45) 


THE END COMES

The end comes
when it all

begins again,
the old monk said.

~

IF YOU CAN'T

If you can't fly,
at least get

out of the way,
the old monk said.

~

SOMETIMES THE DARKNESS

Sometimes the darkness
helps you see,
the old monk said.

~

BE SWEETGRASS

Be sweetgrass
or be the wind,

the old monk told
his students.

~

WHEN THE STARS

When the stars
speak, listen

and take notes,
the old monk says.

~

DON'T WAIT

Don't wait
for the end

until the end,
the old monk advised.

~

PROMISE THEM

Promise them nothing
until they stop coming back,
the old monk advised.

~

I DON'T KNOW

I don't know
what to think

and still
the sun goes down,

the old monk
realized.

~

THAT'S RIGHT

That's right,
the old monk said,

anarchy
is not chaos.

~

WHEN THE SILENCE

When the silence
finally finds you,

don't speak to it,
the old monk says.

~



THREE OLD MONK POEMS (78) 


HOW THE OLD

How the old
monk's hut is --

you have to go
all the way around

the outside to
get inside.

~

WHERE THE WORLD

Where the world
is that way

that's the way
the world is,

the old monk said.

~

THE LAST ONE

The last one
to let go

always has
someone

to land on,
the old monk said.

~



Saturday, December 11, 2021

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (77) 


YOU CAN RUN AROUND

You can run around
holding the pail

to catch the rain, or
you can set it

in the yard, your choice,
the old monk said.

~

THE OLD MONK THINKS

The old monk thinks
he's trying to say

what he thinks,
the students say.

~

LATER IS

Later is
always late,
the old monk says.

~



Friday, December 10, 2021

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (76) 


IT'S THE OLD MONK'S

It's the old monk's trick,
the old monk said --

you don't know how to
do it until you do.

~

IF THIS WERE

If this were wisdom,
wouldn't they already

be selling what I say,
the old monk said.

~

IT'S THE STUDENTS

It's the students
I teach
who teach,
the old monk said.

~



Thursday, December 09, 2021

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (75) 


IF I WAS SMART

If I was smart enough
to do that,
do you think I'd be
doing this,
the old monk
asked them.

~

INDEED, THE BEAT

Indeed, the beat
goes on,

the old monk said.
Listen!

~

SOMETIMES

Sometimes
I have to cross

to the other side
of the street

to avoid what
I'm thinking,

the old monk says.

~



Wednesday, December 08, 2021

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (74) 


IF YOU OPEN IT

If you open it
as far as you can
open it,

you'll close it,
the old monk said.

~

YOU DON'T ALWAYS

You don't always notice,
the old monk said,

but sometimes nobody's
driving the bus.

~

YOU DON'T HAVE TO

You don't have to
push

if it's pulling,
the old monk said.

~



Tuesday, December 07, 2021

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (73) 


YOU THINK

You think by my age
you'll figure it out
but you won't,

the old monk said.

~

LIFE IS

Life is
the tiny particle

between great chunks
of nothing,

the old monk says.

~

ONE AND

ONE and
THREE and

is what he's
saying with

the brushes,
the old monk

said about
the drummer.

~



Monday, December 06, 2021

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (72) 


NOT WANTING IT

Not wanting it
means you can have it,
the old monk says.

Things come out
backwards like that.

~

THE OLD MONK / TALKS

The old monk
talks himself out of
talking.

~

THINK TOO MUCH

Think too much
about it,
you'll lose it.
Best to just
leave it
on the table,
the old monk said.

~



Sunday, December 05, 2021

TEN OLD MONK POEMS (44) 


THAT'S NOT

That's not the lunch bell --
it's time for silence,

the old monk told
the visitors.

~

YOU DON'T KNOW

You don't know
where he is

when the old
monk is on

the mountain,
and you don't

want to know.

~

HOW MANY CORNERS

How many corners
does a four-cornered

box have,
the old monk asked.

This is a trick
question.

~

IT'S LIKE WRITING

It's like writing with silver
ink when the good ones come,

the poems,
the old monk said.

~

IF I START

If I start to write
in short-hand, no one
will ever know it,

the old monk told
the poet.

~

IT DOESN'T MEAN

It doesn't mean what it means
when I say it,
the old monk complained.

~

THE SKY TAKES

The sky takes
only what

the earth allows,
the old monk said.

~

ALL THE SILENCE

All the silence
of the silence --

that much emptiness,
the old monk said.

~

IT'S THE LETTING GO

It's the letting go
not the getting loose
you want,

the old monk told
his students.

~

EVERY MOMENT

Every moment
is every moment --

it's not as if
they're separate,

the old monk said.

~



THREE OLD MONK POEMS (71) 


IN ALL THINGS

In all things
it's not
the putting it

to it
that does it,
but the moving

it about,
the old monk
explained.

~

DON'T TAKE

Don't take so much
you can't carry it,
the old monk said.
That's too much.

~

WHAT YOU LOSE

What you lose
at the crossroads

you won't make up
for with tips,

the old monk said.

~



Saturday, December 04, 2021

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (70) 


HOW MUCH

How much
does what

you can
do help

what you
can't do,

the old
monk asked.

~

NOT RIGHT NOW

Not right now
but soon,

the old monk said,
is patience.

~

GRACE WILL NOT

Grace will not
save us

when we love
sin so much,

the old monk
says, and we do

love sin.

~


Friday, December 03, 2021

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (69) 


ONLY A FEW

Only a few
should be enough,

the old monk said,
if you don't waste them.

~

SOMETIMES SILENCE

Sometimes silence
is the blessing,
the old monk said.

Sometimes it's
a friend's voice.

~

IF THERE ARE

If there are
no stars

in that
parallel

universe,
the old monk said,

what do they
wish upon?

~



Thursday, December 02, 2021

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (68) 


IT'S LIKE YOU'RE

It's like you're carrying
a heavy box, this holiness,
the old monk said.

~

HOW MUCH

How much does it
hurt to wait,
the old monk asked.

That's how much
you want it.

~

AND YOUR ANGELS

And your angels
shall gather round,

then together
you shall fly.

That's they way
the take you,

the old monk said.

~



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