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.
~
