Sunday, July 31, 2022

TEN OLD MONK POEMS (78) 


IT IS OFTEN

It is often nine,
but it's sometimes listed
as five, or seven, or twelve,
the planes of my existence,
the old monk said.

~

SOME PLANES

Some planes are plain,
some plains are planes,
the old monk observed.

~

LET THE DEVIL

Let the devil do
the devil's work --
don't do it for him,
the old monk said.

~

FRESH-SQUEEZED

Fresh-squeezed sadness,
or concentrate --
it's all the same,
the old monk said.

~

ANGELS SOMETIMES

Angels sometimes
appear as
cats and dogs,
the old monk said.

~
ENOUGH

Enough
is a blue rose,
the old monk said.

~

JUST STAND

Just stand in the middle of it
and imagine.
That's how you write a poem,
the old monk said.

~

IT'S A GOOD PREDICAMENT

It's a good predicament
for a writer to be worried
about running out of paper,
the old monk said.

~

YOU CAN MAKE

You can make a deal with the devil
but you can't make him keep it,
the old monk said.

~

IT'S NOT IMAGINATION

It's not imagination --
all night the stars are telling stories,
the old monk said.

~



THREE OLD MONK POEMS (268) 


SEEING SPIRITS

Seeing spirits -- in darkness
or in the light -- is necessary

before you can ever hope to
touch God on the mountain,

the old monk said.

~

MY GUIDE

My guide is the hawk,
the old monk said,

my power in his
wings and talons, in

the might of his strike.

~

THE UNIVERSE IS

The universe is
the universe

dreaming itself,
the old monk said.

~



Friday, July 29, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (267) 


WHEN THE BIRD

When the bird
of the sun
sings, listen.

This is God
speaking,
the old monk said.

~

BECAUSE WE CANNOT

Because we cannot be gods,
we have been blessed with trees

which teach us all we need to know,
the old monk said.

~

IF THEY INVITE YOU

If they invite you
to eat with them,

determine first if
they are daughters

of the gods, or
are they human,

the old monk said.
Do not eat with

daughters of the gods,
lest they also want to

teach you how to fly.

~



IN THE NEWS 


I try to leave it
the way God wants it --
you should too,
the old monk said.



Thursday, July 28, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (266) 


WHAT IS HOLY

What is holy
on the mountain

is holy always
and everywhere

again and again,
thea old monk said.

~

IT IS IN

It is in the darkness
you see the face of God,
the old monk said.

~

IT IS THE MOUNTAIN

It is the mountain
which chooses who

goes up the mountain,
which chooses who

is lifted and delivered,
the old monk said.

~



Wednesday, July 27, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (265) 


IN THE ECSTATIC

In the ecstatic moment
are all other moments,

or none of them,
the old monk says.

~

THE OLD PINE

The old pine
is no less

a god
than the stone

beneath it,
the old monk says,

even as
the stone is

all the god
there is.

~

ON THE MOUNTAIN

On the mountain
you can honor
all gods or

the one and
only god,
for the mountain

makes no such
distinctions,
the old monk says.

~



Tuesday, July 26, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (264) 


EVERY FACE

Every face
is the face of God,
the old monk said.

~

THE STARS HAVE BEEN

The stars have been
thinking us

a very long time,
the old monk said.

~

LOVE / WANTS

Love
wants love.

Hate
wants it too,

the old monk said.

~



Monday, July 25, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (263) 


WHEN THE RIVER

When the river
is not a god

in your mythology,
you have to make

your god a tree,
the old monk said.

~

IT ALWAYS SEEMS

It always seems
what you come back from

you still go forward to,
the old monk said.

~

WHAT PULLS

What pulls the Great Attractor
pulls us

and we fly towards it --
lightning and the acrid

smell of loss,
the old monk said.

~



Sunday, July 24, 2022

TEN OLD MONK POEMS (77) 


A STAR IS BORN

A star is born
when other stars die,
the old monk told
the astronomer.

~

IF YOU REALLY ARE

If you really are
who you say you are,
let's see you fly,
the old monk
challenged him.

~

MUSIC IS

Music is just a lot
of banging on rocks
and hollow logs, trying
to find something
that sounds good,
the old monk said.

~

WHO CARES

Who cares when God
falls out of bed?
God does,
the old monk said.

~

IF I COULD LIVE

If I could live
another life

I'd spend it
writing

folk sayings,
the old monk said.

~

IF YOU WANT IT

If you want it to rain
leave a wagon of corn sit out,
or a load of hay,
the old monk told the farmer.

~

RED AT NIGHT

Red at night
is another sunset,
the old monk said.

~

YOUR PATH

Your path up the mountain --
you are a creature of habit,
the old monk told him.

~

I COULD DO

I could do the math of the universe
but you're not really interested
in the answer, so why bother,
the old monk told his students.

~



THREE OLD MONK POEMS (262) 


YOU WANT SO MANY

You want so many things
but your prayers are useless if
you don't keep your head down,
the old monk said.

~

WHAT IS BEYOND

What is beyond
the blue sky

only the working
poets know,

the old monk said.

~

THE GODS LOVE

The gods love
those they love

and they don't
love us,

the old monk said.

~



Saturday, July 23, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (261) 


IF YOU COME

If you come
to my church,

you don't have to,
the old monk said.

~

IT'S NOT SO

It's not so much
listening to yourself

as listening,
this poetry,

the old monk said.

~

INFINITY'S / NOT

Infinity's
not so difficult

once you get
the counting done,

the old monk says.

~



IN THE NEWS 


A Green Bay Sweep
is when they know it's coming
and they can't stop it --
yours, gentlemen, was not
a Green Bay Sweep,
the old monk said.



Friday, July 22, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (260) 


TRUTH / BOWS

Truth
bows before
beauty,
the old monk says.

~

THE FIRE

The fire
is not

the smoke,
the old

monk says.
Know what

you're
dealing with.

~

BEGINNER'S MIND

Beginner's mind
is a place to start,

the old monk told
his students.

~



Thursday, July 21, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (259) 


WISDOM IS

Wisdom is
the basket,

not the apples,
the old monk says.

~

WHEN THE DOOR

When the door
is open

sometimes
you see things.

That's poetry,
the old monk says.

~

IF I KNEW

If I knew
what I was doing

why would I do it,
the old monk said.

~



IN THE NEWS 


When it rains
in the Sahara
it seldom
hits the ground,
the old monk said.
That's only going
to get worse.



Wednesday, July 20, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (258) 


SOME POEMS ARE

Some poems are like
writing upside down and backwards,
the old monk told the poet.

~

WE DO BASE 12

We do base 12 for time
and base 10 for money,
base 8 for music,
base 6 for half a dozen,
base 4 for music again,
and limbs,
base 2 for computers
and marriage.
That's how we count,
the old monk said.

~

OFTEN / WHAT

Often
what you find
on the mountain
is not
on the mountain,
the old monk told
his student.

~



Tuesday, July 19, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (257) 


YOU HAVE TO

You have to
make them pause

if you want them to
pay attention,

the old monk said.
That's basic rhetoric.

~

SOMETIMES WANT

Sometimes want
is wanting,
the old monk said,

and sometimes it's
not having enough.

~

IF YOU TRY

If you try to put
everything on top,
something will fall,
the old monk said.

~



Monday, July 18, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (256) 


YOU STUDY

You study
the emptiness,

you get
your degree,

then what?
Then you live

on the mountain,
the old monk said.

~

THE UNIVERSE IS

The universe is flat
because everything spins?

What caused the spinning,
the old monk asked.

~

WHEN YOU GO

When you go out
of your body

you won't always
fit back in

exactly. Be
prepared for that,

the old monk told
his students.

~



IN THE NEWS 


Trump is causing inflation,
the old monk said.
All the money people send him,
if they gave it to waiters and clerks,
would still be in circulation.



Sunday, July 17, 2022

TEN OLD MONK POEMS (76) 



NUMBERS WORKING OUT

Numbers working out
the way they're supposed to?
I worry,
the old monk said.

~

WHAT IS

What is
the function
of function,
the old monk
wondered.

~

THINGS GO ON

Things go on
because it is in
the nature of things
to want to go on,
the old monk said.

~

NOBODY WANTS TO BE

Nobody wants to be the clown
but everyone wants that freedom,
the old monk said.

~

WHAT DO YOU GIVE UP

What do you give up
when you give up,
the old monk asked them.

~

NOT EVEN GOD

Not even God could do
what a purring cat does,
the old monk said.

~

WHAT WERE YOU SINGING

What were you singing
when your father's ghost came in,
the old monk asked his student.

~

YOU TRY TO SLEEP

You try to sleep
in the hay --
the ground is hard,
the shepherd told
the old monk.

~

THEY CALL MY NAME

They call my name.
They call my
name.
They call
my name.
They
call my name.
They call my name,
the old monk said.

~



THREE OLD MONK POEMS (255) 


WHATEVER IT DOES

Whatever it does
it doesn't undo,
so be careful,
the old monk said.

~

WHERE IT STARTS

Where it starts is
not where it ends

unless it's a
circular track,

the old monk said.

~

IF IT'S PARALLEL

If it's parallel
but wobbles,

that's our chance
to find another

universe,
the old monk said.

~



IN THE NEWS 


Who's going to
tell the story of
the end,
the old monk wondered.



Saturday, July 16, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (254) 


HOW MANY

How many platforms
do I have to construct

to find the one I want
to spend forty days on,

the old monk asked
his master.

~

EVERYTHING I SAY

Everything I say
I already said

you don't have to
write down again,

the old monk told
his students.

~

YOU CAN BREAK

You can break
what you make

or call it art --
either way,

no pressure,
the old monk said.

~



IN THE NEWS 


Welcome, stranger,
is the first thing we say,
the old monk told his students.



Friday, July 15, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (253) 


IN THE DESERT

In the desert,
of course, and even

on the mountain
the djinn will call,

the old monk warned.

~

SOME STARS

Some stars are stars
and some are invitations,
the old monk said.

~

WHEN YOU FIND

When you find it
you find it --

that's why it
was waiting,

the old monk said.

~



Thursday, July 14, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (252) 


HOW

How
aching-
ly close

need and
want are,

the old
monk said.

~

THE MORE I DON'T

The more I don't
understand,
the more I do,
the old monk told
his master.

~

SOMETIMES / THE BLACKBOARD'S

Sometimes
the blackboard's

wiped clean
and I have

nothing
to tell you,

the old monk told
his students.

~



IN THE NEWS 


To understand events today
it might help to know that
after Cain killed Abel,
he moved to Russia,
the old monk said.



Wednesday, July 13, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (251) 


THE FASTER

The faster the universe
flies apart,

the sooner it will turn
inside out,

the old monk said.

~

WHAT IF

What if
God is

just a cat
playing with

a ball of yarn,
the old monk wondered.

~

ALL THIS TIME

All this time
after all this time --
the universe knows,
the old monk said.

~



IN THE NEWS 


Planning only leads to disappointment,
the old monk said, thinking maybe
he was plagiarizing some Russian.



Tuesday, July 12, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (250) 


THE WAY

The way you find your voice --
you steal your father's
the old monk said.

~

ASK THAT

Ask that stone
what to do,
the old monk said.

It will tell you
what you need
to know.

~

A SHELF OF CLOUD

A shelf of cloud
coming from the west,

what kind of lesson
does that teach,

the old monk asked
his master.

~



IN THE NEWS 


They're lancing a boil
and we're assisting is
how I like to put it,
the old monk said.



Monday, July 11, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (249) 


IN THE DESERT

In the desert
you have to know --

you can't ask
directions,

the old monk said.

~

YOU TURN

You turn.
You turn back.

Can you return
to where

you turned from,
the old monk asked.

~

THERE ARE

There are omens
and portents,
the old monk said,

but not nearly
as many
as you think.

~



IN THE NEWS 


The Russian soul has been dark
for a very long time.
That's why they fight, and drink,
the old monk said.
They have no angels.



Sunday, July 10, 2022

TEN OLD MONK POEMS (75) 

 
SOMETIMES YOU DRIVE

Sometimes you drive faster
going to than coming home --
it depends on what you're after,
the old monk said.

~

WATER CAN TEACH US

Water can teach us --
take the path of least resistance.
Rock can teach us too,
but that's a harder lesson,
the old monk said.

~

IF YOU WRITE

If you write to
make something pretty
you shouldn't
look at my handwriting,
the old monk said.

~

THE KIND OF WISDOM

The kind of wisdom
that allows a monk to fly
doesn't weigh heavy,
the old monk said.

~

YOU ARE SCREWING WITH MEANING

You are screwing with meaning
when you change the line breaks,
the old monk told the poet.

~

SOME THINGS I SAY

Some things I say
are so astonishing
I surprise myself,
the old monk said.

~

A FLASH A BRILLIANCE

A flash of brilliance
lasts fifty years at least,
the old monk said.

~

PONDER THE POUNDER

Ponder the pounder
the old monk said
about his ancient hammer.

~

A LITTLE IS

A little is a good start
when you're working the long haul,
the old monk said, and he
didn't know what it meant.

~

GOD AND I MADE A DEAL

God and I made a deal --
he stays on his side of the bed,
the old monk said.

~



THREE OLD MONK POEMS (248) 


SIDEWAYS

Sideways
is how you

get there,
living on

the mountain,
the old monk said.

~

GO ALL IN

Go all in
at the end

and get it
over with,

the old monk told
his best runner.

~

DARK ENERGY

Dark energy
is the space

between atoms,
isn't it,

the old monk asked
the physicist.

~



IN THE NEWS 


The world keeps
telling us

what it needs
and we don't

listen,
the old monk said.

We think the wind
is just the wind.



Saturday, July 09, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (247) 


THE THING ABOUT HERMITS

The thing about hermits --
they don't like to bathe,
the old monk said.

~

HOW IS IT

How is it possible
to think impossible things,
the old monk asked.

~

THE WIND AT

The wind at
the old monk's hut

doesn't go quiet
for anyone.

~



Friday, July 08, 2022

IN THE NEWS 


It's the old ones
holding their grandchildren
who will not give up so easy,
the old monk explained
to the Russians.
That's why you'll
never win.



THREE OLD MONK POEMS (246) 


YOU FIND

You find the berries
and pick them,

you can't make them
just appear,

the old monk said
about life on

the mountain.

~

THE WIND KNOWS

The wind knows
what it takes

to make you fly,
the old monk said.

~

YOU CANNOT

You cannot
change your mind --

it was already changed
by your changing,

the old monk said.

~



Thursday, July 07, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (245) 


STAND HERE

Stand here and wait
long enough, you will

know what life's like
on the mountain,

the old monk said

~

IF ONLY WE COULD

If only we could make
people talk poetry,
the old monk exclaimed.

~

YOU DO IT

You do it with your ear,
not on your fingers,
if you do it at all,
the old monk told
the poet.

~



IN THE NEWS 


When the mother earth
doesn't know what she wants,
you've got trouble,
the old monk said.



Wednesday, July 06, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (244) 


AS ALIKE AS

As alike as
two unlike
things can be,

the old monk said
about his brother.

~

YOU OPEN YOUR

You open your mouth,
your words will come out,
so, just, don't,

the old monk
advised himself.

~

HOW MUCH

How much do you want
when a few is enough

with what you've got,
the old monk asked.

~



IN THE NEWS 


When we have to imagine crickets
you've destroyed the earth,
the old monk said.



Tuesday, July 05, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (243) 


IF YOU KEEP

If you keep carrying
all the baggage,

the old monk told
his student,

you'll surely fall behind.

~

IT'S A STRANGE

It's a strange
sort of wisdom,

the old monk
admitted

when his students
asked about

his teachings.

~

THE FIRST THING

The first thing you do
before you die

is say good-bye.
It's also the last thing,

the old monk said.

~



IN THE NEWS 


Sometimes you just have to stop
worrying about the world and
view it as entertainment,
the old monk said.
You go crazy if you don't.
Just live your lives and love each other.
I don't mean give up.
I mean sweep your walk.



Monday, July 04, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (242) 


GO UP

Go up the mountain
and see if you still think that

when you come back down,
the old monk told his student.

~

IF THE FIRST

If the first thing you say
is I love you too,

why did you wait,
the old monk asked.

~

IT'S EVERYWHERE

It's everywhere,
the old monk said.

You can find it
on the mountain,

if you want to,
but it's also

here, right here.

~



Sunday, July 03, 2022

TEN OLD MONK POEMS (74) 


SOME NIGHTS

Some nights
the sky goes dark
and you don't think
a single thought,
the old monk said.

~

EVEN IF

Even if it's emptiness
you have something to think about,
the old monk said.

~

STOP BEFORE

Stop before
you've made it plain,
the old monk told
the poet.

~

AT THE BOTTOM

At the bottom
is where you begin
and where you end,
the old monk said.

~

DON'T HANDLE

Don't handle more than you can handle,
especially the venomous snakes,
the old monk advised.

~

IT'S COMING APART

It's coming apart
just before sleep that
makes for a bad night,
the old monk said.

~

IF IT DIDN'T HURT

If it didn't hurt
how would you know
you meant it,
the old monk asked.

~

THE TENSE

The tense
of your verb

depends on
where

you're standing,
the old monk said.

~

AS THE UNIVERSE

As the universe
flies apart

what is it
flying apart from,

the old monk
wondered.

Does it leave
an emptiness?

~

FIND THE WAY

Find the way is easy --
there's a map in the night sky,
the old monk said.

~



THREE OLD MONK POEMS (241) 


SOMETIMES WHISPERING

Sometimes whispering
draws them in,

the old monk told
the preacher about

those in the back.

~

SOMEDAY MY STUDENT

Someday my student
will be someone's master --

I shudder to think,
the old monk said.

~

IF YOU DO IT

If you do it right,
the old monk said,

eventually your student
finds his mountain.

~



Saturday, July 02, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (240) 


NO ONE

No one wants
what you get

when you undo
it going backwards,

the old monk said.

~

HOW FAR OUT

How far out
do you think
you can go

before you
think about
coming back,

the old monk asked.

~

THEY ARE ALL

They are all around us,
the stars that are angels,

the old monk said
about the night sky.

~



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