Sunday, June 12, 2022
TEN OLD MONK POEMS (71)
YOU CAN'T THREATEN
You can't threaten
someone who has nothing
and who wants nothing,
the old monk assured them.
~
HOW DO YOU
How do you get from
nowhere to nothing?
You follow directions,
the old monk said.
~
SOMETIMES / WHEN
Sometimes
when the spirit
flies out of me
she really flies
out of me,
the old monk said
about ecstasy.
~
IF YOU COVER
If you cover your nakedness
what will I have to paint,
the old monk asked the model.
~
AH, YES
Ah, yes,
the universe
flies apart
because time
can't reverse,
the old monk said.
I understand
that now.
~
IF ALL YOU SEE
If all you see is darkness
you might need new glasses,
the old monk said.
~
NO ONE TELLS YOU
No one tells you not to,
only you do,
the old monk said.
~
ELEVENTY-SEVEN
Eleventy-seven
is more than
a handful,
the old monk said.
~
WILL BE IS
Will be is was
lickety-split,
the old monk said.
~
IF YOU CAN
If you can purr like a cat
you can fly like an angel,
the old monk told his students.
~
