Monday, February 28, 2022

IN THE NEWS 


They're dying to
stick it to the libs
and Covid is so
accommodating,
the old monk said.



THREE OLD MONK POEMS (147) 


HOW MUCH

How much of it
can you stand

before you have to
go back down

the mountain --
that's the question,

the old monk said.

~

IF YOU DON'T

If you don't
understand it,

try reading it
upside down,

the old monk said.

~

SEVEN OR

Seven or a hundred
is how many,

the master asked
the old monk who

approximates.

~



Sunday, February 27, 2022

TEN OLD MONK POEMS (56) 


POEMS?

Poems? How many
of them are there,
they asked.

As many as there
are stars,
the old monk said.

~

ABOUT THE TIME

About the time
you lose it is
when you need it,
the old monk said.

~

WHEN THE HUM

When the hum
of the universe

goes through you,
you hum with it,

the old monk said.

~

SOMEWHERE OUT PAST

Somewhere out past
Omaha when you're

halfway there is
no time to remember

what you forgot,
the old monk said.

~

YOU CAN TURN

You can turn him
a different way,

they say about
the old monk,

and he still
talks the same.

~

WHERE WOULD I BE

Where would I be
if I wasn't here,

the old monk
asked the mountain.

The mountain
wouldn't say.

~

EVERY PROCESS

Every process
has a shape

and if you
know the shape

you know
the process,

the old monk said.

~

IF IT'S NOT

If it's not there
when you want it,

it's there
when you don't,

the old monk said.

~

THE SKY

The sky
doesn't understand

what the wind
wants,

the old monk says.

~

HOW MUCH INK

How much ink does it take
to write the night sky dark,
the old monk wondered.

~



IN THE NEWS 


If you want to start a world war,
do something stupid and keep doing it,
the old monk said.



THREE OLD MONK POEMS (146) 


EVERYTHING

Everything
that goes

is not always
what you want

to let go,
the old monk said.

~

YOU CAN'T IMAGINE

You can't imagine
imagination,

you actually
have to have it,

the old monk said.

~

IF HE SAID

If he said it before,
he was only getting started,
the master said
about the old monk.

~



Saturday, February 26, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (145) 


AH, YES, SKIN

Ah, yes, skin,
where we begin

to understand
the world,

the old monk said.

~

IMAGINE

Imagine imagining it
and then be ready,
the old monk told
the waiting poets.

~

WHERE YOU DRAW

Where you draw the line
is where the line is.
Does it move around with you,
the old monk wondered.

~



Friday, February 25, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (144) 

 
YOU CAN'T

You can't see
that you don't
see it,
the old monk says.

~

WANT

Want
is not what
you want,
the old monk said.

~

BEFORE

Before we were humans,
we were dragons,
the old monk said.

~



Thursday, February 24, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (143) 


YOU WATCH

You watch yourself
watching yourself

you can't see
what you're doing,

the old monk says.

~

WHERE'S THE PROFIT

Where's the profit
in prophecy,
the old monk asked.

~

WHAT YOU WANT

What you want
is to touch

the lightning
bolt of God,

the old monk says.

~



Wednesday, February 23, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (142) 


I MAY HAVE

I may have
already said that.

I've been talking
ten thousand years,

the old monk said.

~

IF I PUT THEM

If I put them together
I could make a speech,
the old monk said
about his poems.

~

THE STARS

The stars can only be
all things by dying,

the old monk explained
to the astronomer.

~



Tuesday, February 22, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (141) 


AT THE SMALLEST

At the smallest hut
they will offer

the best supper,
the old monk said.

This is true
of many things.

~

SETTLE

Settle onto
the soft grasses here,

the grasses want it,
the old monk said.

~

HOW IMPORTANT

How important is it
to break the line?

If you don't break it,
it's not a line,

the old monk told
the poet.

~



Monday, February 21, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (140) 


NO, I DON'T

No, I don't live in
a monastery,
the old monk said.

I live in
the roots of a tree.

~

THE DOOR WON'T

The door doesn't open
when the guest

isn't wanted,
the old monk said.

You can tell by
the rusty hinges.

~

IF YOU GO

If you go
up the mountain,
go all the way
up.

If you come
down the mountain,
come half-
way,

the old monk says.

~



Sunday, February 20, 2022

TEN OLD MONK POEMS (55) 


HOW YOU DO IT

How you do it
is your business,
the old monk says.

How you don't
is mine.

~

A SOFT STONE

A soft stone
is a good pillow,
the old monk says.

~

TWO HALVES

Two halves
can be divided
easier than
one whole,
the old monk said.

~

WHY DO WE

Why do we want more
when half will do,
the old monk wonders.

~

IF THEY GIVE YOU

If they give you a hand,
don't keep their fingers,
the old monk said.

~

I HAVE NO

I have no opinion
and I'm out of
onions,
the old monk said.

~

IF THAT'S THE LAST

If that's the last
thing the old monk
has to say,
will he shut up,
they wondered.

~

IF YOU CAN

If you can,
the old monk said,

you do what
you can't.

~

ANY PLACE

Any place you land
is where you want to

when there's no
alternative,

the old monk says.

~

IF I EXPLAINED

If I explained it any better
I wouldn't understand it either,
the old monk said, apologizing.

~



Saturday, February 19, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (139) 


THAT'S SOMEONE ELSE'S

That's someone else's
mountain,
the old monk said.

You don't go up
without invitation.

~

I DON'T DO

I don't do
deals on the side,

I do them
right out front,

the old monk said.

~

SOME OF THOSE

Some of those
stones are my
dearest friends,
the old monk said.
He meant it.

~



Friday, February 18, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (138) 


IT WORKS OUT

It works out better
if I don't work it out,
the old monk said.

~

AS MANY

As many as you need
is for those who
like a few extra,
the old monk says.

~

WE PLACE

We place markers
and lose them.

That's how we
get confused,

the old monk says.

~



Thursday, February 17, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (137) 


THE GRASSES KNOW

The grasses know
what the grasses know

and that is enough
for the mountain,

the old monk says.

~

HE DOESN'T

He doesn't always know
what he's going to say

but he goes ahead and
says it, the old monk.

~

POETRY

Poetry -- it starts
when it wants

and you don't
tell it to stop,

the old monk says.

~



Wednesday, February 16, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (136) 


THE DIRTY DEALS

The dirty deals you make --
the devil will want some,
the old monk says.

~

HOW MUCH

How much to do
before you do it,

the old monk asked
the rebellious student.

~

THE BEST MOMENT

The best moment
is the last one,
the old monk says.

~



Tuesday, February 15, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (135) 


JUST LIKE

Just like last night,
the stars and their stories,
the old monk said.

~

IF YOU'RE WORRIED

If you're worried
about what you're

going to say,
skip rehearsal --

just say it,
the old monk says.

~

IF SHE LIVES

If she lives
across the river,

is she really
one of ours,

that poet,
the old monk asked.

~



Monday, February 14, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (134) 


FEAR

Fear
is what fear

fears,
the old monk says.

~

IT'S NOT

It's not the excitement
that will kill you,

the old monk said,
it's the sudden stop.

~

IT'S A MESS

It's a mess,
the old monk said,

speaking of the box
he puts his

poems into.

~



Sunday, February 13, 2022

TEN OLD MONK POEMS (54) 


IF I HAD

If I had a larger vocabulary
I wouldn't know what to say,
the old monk said.

~

WHEN YOU TURN

When you turn
inside out

upside down
you get

upside out,
the old monk said.

Try it. You'll see.

~

WHEN THE WORLD

When the world
goes quiet

it makes you
wonder,

the old monk said.

~

SOMETIMES THERE'S

Sometimes there's the girl
and sometimes it's the tiger
but often there's nothing
behind either door,
the old monk told them.

~

NOT PARTICLE

Not particle
nor wave,

light is a sheet
flapping in

the great wind,
the old monk said.

~

LIGHT IS

Light is
the mane of a hard-

running horse,
the old monk says.

~

THE WATCHERS

The watchers watch
the crows and the corn
in the field,
everything, that's
what they do,
the old monk says.

~

MORNING COMES

Morning comes sooner
on the mountain,

and lasts longer,
the old monk says.

~

IF YOU FOLLOW

If you follow
your shadow

you are
going home,

the old monk says.

~

THE LOWEST

The lowest is first
off the apple tree,
the old monk says.

~


THREE OLD MONK POEMS (133) 


HOW MANY WORDS

How many words
can you bend,
how many ways
can you bend them,
the old monk asked
the poet.

~

YESTERDAY

Yesterday
is always better

than today
and tomorrow

is even better
than that,

the old monk said,
speaking generally.

~

THE POET

The poet
judges his students.

The old monk
judges the poet.

Who judges
the old monk?

The students.

~



Saturday, February 12, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (132) 


DON'T WEAR

Don't wear a face
to hide yourself,
the old monk said.
It won't be pretty.

~

TURN WHEREVER

Turn wherever --
you aren't going
to get there,
the old monk told
his worst student.

~

ANYWHERE IS

Anywhere is
somewhere else,

the old monk said.
It's not here.

~



Friday, February 11, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (131) 


THE WAY IT BREAKS

The way it breaks is
the way it breaks,

the old monk said,
whether you're talking

about a storm,
a walking stick, or

a line of poetry.

~

SOMETIMES / SHADOWS

Sometimes
shadows
on the wall

is all
the candle
has to say

the old monk said.

~

THE LEAST YOU CAN DO

The least you can do
is to try not to undo
what God has done,
the old monk said.

~



Thursday, February 10, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (130) 


SOME GO

Some go into
the desert
to choose their silence.

Some go up
the mountain.

Those who find it
do not return,
the old monk says.

~

MAKE WAY

Make way. Make way,
the old monk says.

Let me say
what I have to

before the wind
comes up the mountain.

~

I HAVE GONE

I have gone up
the mountain

and have spoken
with silence and

now I can say
what I have to,

the old monk
told his students.

~



Wednesday, February 09, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (129) 


THE JOY

The joy
in going
up the mountain

is going
up the mountain,
the old monk says.

~

WHEN THE DARKNESS

When the darkness
calls you, hold to

the stone of the mountain
and to the light

within it,
the old monk says.

~

THIS IS HOW

This is how I live,
writing one line at a time.
This is how I will die, too,
the old monk said.

~



Tuesday, February 08, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (128) 


SO, YOU'RE SAYING

So, you're saying
all that is
is

all that was,
the old monk asked
the physicist.

~

WHEN YOU SEE

When you see
this tree
or that stone
is god

you will be
lifted,
the old monk said.

~

THE MOUNTAIN DOES NOT

The mountain does not
make promises.
You are on your own,
the old monk
told his students.

~



Monday, February 07, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (127) 


KEEP THINKING

Keep thinking about it,
the old monk says,
and you'll never do it.

~

SOME OF US

Some of us
only imagine
mountains

and some
mountains
only imagine

us,
the old monk said.

~

YOU CAN'T TALK

You can't talk your way
into silence,
the old monk says.

~



Sunday, February 06, 2022

TEN OLD MONK POEMS (53) 



IF YOU WANT TO

If you want to
move here from there

it always goes faster when
you move there from here,

the old monk said.

~

SO HE CAN

So he can
keep up, the old

monk wants
an old and

tired mule.
Sally will do.

~

IF YOU GET OUT THERE

If you get out there
past the front edge
of the universe,

it might get scary,
the old monk warned.

~

THE UNIVERSE

The universe
came up from

the bottom and goes
out all the way

to the edge
and can't come back,

the old monk said.
This is your

advanced cosmology
I'm talking about.

~

IT'S THE CALL-BUTTON

It's the call-button
for the nurse

or the tail
of the tiger,

the old monk said.
I don't know which.

~

IF GOD

If God has taken
more than seven days

to make the universe,
imagine how much

more interesting
it could be,

the old monk said.
I mean, God has

other tricks.

~

ALL THE GRASSES

All the grasses
love the mountain,
the old monk says.

All the stone.
All the sky.

~

I'D DRAW YOU

I'd draw you a map,
the old monk said,

but it might not help
you find your way.

~

HOW CAN WE TELL

How can we tell
the old monk from

any grumpy old man
on the mountain,

they asked the master
before they left.

~

IF SOMEONE

If someone makes you
a cheap offer, ask them
what they honor,
the old monk said.

~


THREE OLD MONK POEMS (126) 


THE OLD MONK GOT ON

The old monk got on the train.
He said, I don't know where
it goes but I'm going.

~

WANTING

Wanting nothing is
what you want to want,
the old monk said.

He was only
half-teasing.

~

ONE LAST LINE

One last line opens,
the old monk said,
and one last line closes.
It works either way.

~



Saturday, February 05, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (125) 


I DON'T ALWAYS

I don't always know
where I'm going,
the old monk said,

and that's the way
you want it.

~

I CAN TELL YOU

I can tell you what I know
but it won't be easy,
the old monk said.

~

YES, KEEP TALKING

Yes, keep talking,
the old monk said,

and maybe you'll
say something

memorable.

~



Friday, February 04, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (124) 


SOMETIMES IT'S SO

Sometimes it's so
good you can't

remember
anything else,

the old monk says.

~

A POLE IS

A pole is slow
going up and
faster coming down

even if you
don't grease it,
the old monk says.

~

PUT IT

Put it to it,
see if it does it,
the old monk said.
That usually works.

~



Thursday, February 03, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (123) 


LIKE US

Like us
birds and flowers

are the stuff
of dead stars,

the old monk said,
the many which

have died for us.

~

OF COURSE

Of course,
the old monk said,

you cannot
offer anything

to the old masters
that the old masters

have not already
given.

~

HE CARRIES

He carries his
sack of stones

for practice
and because

he's afraid
he might

fly away,
the old monk.

~




Wednesday, February 02, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (122) 


THE WISE MAN

The wise man knows
where the fool has been,
the old monk says.

~

I JUST TYPE THEM

I just type them,
I don't judge them,
the old monk's secretary
said of his poems.

~

KEEP SHOOTING

Keep shooting.
One of them
will hit it,
the old monk said.

~



Tuesday, February 01, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (121) 


HE THINKS

He thinks he's a poet.
We know he's a monk,
they said about
their teacher.

~

THE OLD MONK
AT SUNDAY DINNER

Show them
you loved it.

Lick your plate
clean.

~

YOU LOOK

You look like a monk,
but you don't talk like one,
they told the old monk.

~



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