Tuesday, August 30, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (297) 


WHERE THE LIGHT

Where the light
comes in --

go there,
the old monk said.

That's the window.
If you can't

see out, it gets
pretty lonely.

~

YOU CAN LOOK

You can look into it,
but never touch the fire,

the old monk told
the visiting spirits.

~

THINK HOW LONG

Think how long
you get to love
what you love,
the old monk said,
then you die.

~



Monday, August 29, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (296) 


SOMETIMES YOU DON'T

Sometimes you don't
make friends.

Sometimes friends
make you,

the old monk said.

~

WHEN EVERYTHING

When everything
starts going backwards

you know the end
is near,

the old monk said.

~

IF EMILY

If Emily was nobody,
who are you,

the old monk
asked himself.

~



Sunday, August 28, 2022

TEN OLD MONK POEMS (82) 


CLARITY IS

Clarity is knowing
all I want is this,
the old monk said.

~

TOO MANY BLESSINGS

Too many blessings
is a burden,
the old monk said.

~

WHEN YOU CAN'T

When you can't give it away
you have to eat it yourself,
the old monk said.

~

WHAT MY BODY

What my body
is doing is
coming undone,
the old monk said.

~

YOU THINK YOU CAN

You think you can
make it better,
you mark it.
That's a second,
the old monk said.

~

QUALITY CONTROL

Quality control
is a low bar,
the old monk said.

~

AN ANGEL

An angel
on the mountain.
No one
notices,
the old monk said,
except me.

~

NOW THEY'RE SAYING

Now they're saying
there are places

in the universe
the laws of physics

don't apply.
Good job, God,

the old monk said.

~

YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO

You always have to
when you can't --
that's the way you are,
the old monk told him.

~

THE POEM COMES

The poem comes
the way it comes,
sideways, sometimes,
the old monk said.

~



THREE OLD MONK POEMS (295) 


SOMETIMES YOU WAIT

Sometimes you wait
and all that comes
is darkness,
the old monk said.

~

IF YOU FIND

If you find
joy in what comes,

you will find
joy,

the old monk said.

~

WHAT YOU CHOOSE

What you choose is
your choice and
not your choice,
the old monk said.

~



Saturday, August 27, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (294) 


THE WORST

The worst contest
is the one you run
against yourself,
the old monk said.

~

SURPRISE YOURSELF

Surprise yourself,
the old monk said,

but don't fall
off the mountain.

~

YOU KNOW WHAT

You know what you stand for
when you stand for it,
the old monk said.

~



IN THE NEWS 


You poke around a bit
and see whose balloon you burst,
the old monk instructed
the reporters.



Friday, August 26, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (293) 


YOU'RE NEVER

You're never alone
when you're chanting,
the old monk told
his students.

~

IT MATTERS

It matters
where you put

the accent,
so everyone knows

where we are,
the old monk told

the drummer.

~

PLAY THE CHILDBIRTH

Play the childbirth tape backwards,
that's like re-incarnation,
the old monk said.

~



Thursday, August 25, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (292) 


THIS IS HOW

This is how you do it,
the old monk told the poet,

you find one and push it
until you find another.

~

IF YOU'RE LEFT-

If you're left-handed
it's not like you're

upside down, you're
more sideways,

the old monk said.

~

NOT EVERYTHING

Not everything goes
the way you want

when anything goes,
the old monk said.

~



IN THE NEWS 


If love were possible in Siberia
perhaps the Russians would be more peaceful,
the old monk speculated.



Wednesday, August 24, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (291) 


IF I COULD

If I could say it,
the old monk said,

I wouldn't have to try
and find so many

ways to explain it.

~

YOU DO

You do a dozen
or fifteen hundred,

after while you
don't keep count,

the old monk told
the line boss.

~

ALL THE WAY

All the way up into
is how you get to heaven,
the old monk said.

~



Tuesday, August 23, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (290) 


IF EVERYTHING

If everything you do
is nothing

nothing you do
is anything,

the old monk says.

~

IT'S NOT

It's not a contest,
the old monk told himself,

you're just trying to
write a poem.

~

A LARGE UNHAPPINESS

A large unhappiness
or many small ones --

what is your preference,
the old monk asked.

~



Monday, August 22, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (289) 


ANY DAY

Any day
is a good day

for ice cream,
my father said

almost until
the day he died,

the old monk
told them.

~

IF WISDOM

If wisdom
is wisdom

what is
the wind,

the old monk
asked his

students.

~

IF THERE WAS

If there was
nothing before

how can there be
any after,

the old monk asked
the astronomer

about the Big Bang.
Perhaps God is

everything compressed
to nothing.

~



Sunday, August 21, 2022

TEN OLD MONK POEMS (81) 


HE DOESN'T SAY

He doesn't say the most
and he doesn't say it the loudest,
but we always listen,
the students said about the old monk.

~

IF YOU'RE ON

If you're on
the edge and not

holding your breath
you're not

at the edge yet,
the old monk said.

~

WHAT IS DISTANCE

What is distance
but the horizon
leading us on,
the old monk asked.

~

SOMETIMES I HEAR

Sometimes I hear
the train whistle
in my bones,
the old monk said.

~

AS QUIET AS

As quiet as
an owl's feather,
the silence,
the old monk said.

~

THE MASTER EXPLAINED

The master explained
how to go home
and still the old monk
didn't get it.

~

IF YOU LAY DOWN

If you lay down
into the fire
you'll wake up
as ashes,
the old monk said.

~

WHY WOULD YOU

Why would you
ever think
you'd ever
think that,
the old monk asked
the student.

~

HEAVEN -- I BELIEVE

Heaven -- I believe
it is green shade
along the river,
the old monk said.

~

IF I'VE SAID IT ONCE

If I've said it once
I've said it
a thousand times --
silence,
the old monk said.

~



IN THE NEWS 


Sometimes the angels
dress as homeless,
the old monk said.



THREE OLD MONK POEMS (288) 


JOHN CLARE

John Clare,
where

are you
when

I need you,
the old monk said.

~

STUDENTS

Students on the mountain
should be on the mountain

with their masters.
Their masters should

already be gone,
the old monk said.

~

YOU'RE AN OLD

You're an old man,
the old monk told himself.
It's okay to be wonky.

~



Saturday, August 20, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (287) 


HOW MANY

How many languages can you speak
when you can't speak this one,
the old monk asked his silent student.

~

DO YOU WANT

Do you want to
die fast or
die slowly?

The answer
will tell you
how to live,

the old monk said.

~

WE LIKE

We like the rain,
we like the sun --

everything
in proportion,

the old monk said.

~



Friday, August 19, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (286) 


THE OLD MONK SAID

The old monk said
enough, enough, enough --
he couldn't say more.

~

IF YOU THINK

If you think
you can carry

a woman
up the mountain,

you are not
ready to go,

the old monk said.

~

THEY COME IN

They come in that order
because that's the order they come in,

like rocks tumbling down the mountain,
the old monk said.

~



Thursday, August 18, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (285) 


SOME ARE SLEEPING

Some are sleeping
and some are

watching their business.
That's the way

cats are,
the old monk said.

~

THE WEARY ANGELS

The weary angels,
let them rest with you

in silence,
the old monk says.

~

SOMETIMES EMPTINESS

Sometimes emptiness
is the bucket we carry

and sometimes it's what
we carry the bucket to,

the old monk said.

~



Wednesday, August 17, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (284) 


SOMETIMES YOU GET

Sometimes you get what you deserve
and sometimes you don't deserve what you get,
the old monk said.

~

THE OLD MONK'S / THEORY

The old monk's
theory of poetry:

write them all down,
let God sort it out.

~

THE EMPTINESS

The emptiness
is better than
nothing,
the old monk says.

~



Tuesday, August 16, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (283) 


THERE IS NOTHING

There is nothing
I want to do

more than nothing,
the old monk said.

~

WHAT KIND

What kind of
emptiness

did you think
you'd find?

This is
the mountain,

the old monk said.

~

THAT BIT

That bit,
just beyond

the edge of
everything --

what is it,
the old monk asked.

~



Monday, August 15, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (282) 


YOU JUST HAVE TO

You just have to sit
where you can hear him
and write it all down,
the old monk's student
told the novice.

~

THE WAY I DO

The way I do them
might surprise you,

the old monk told
the poet.

~

SOMETIMES I THINK

Sometimes I think the universe
is just getting wound up,
the old monk told the astronomer.

~



Sunday, August 14, 2022

TEN OLD MONK POEMS (80) 


THE POET UNDERSTANDS

The poet understands
that there's that which
you can't understand
and he tries to say it,
the old monk said.

~

YOU WORRY

You worry
an awful lot
about poetry
for a holy man,
the master
told the old monk.

~

WHEN YOU'RE PREACHING

When you're preaching
they want you to tell the whole story
in one or two sentences.
When they're preaching,
that doesn't apply,
the old monk complained
about the other hermits.

~

WHAT'S ON THE MOUNTAIN

What's on the mountain
stays on the mountain --
except for the wind,
the old monk said.

~

GETTING OLD IS LIKE

Getting old is like
rotting on the vine
and death is like
heaven,
the old monk
told them at the end.

~

YOU CLOSE YOUR EYES

You close your eyes
and make them think
you're asleep --
that's the trick
to getting them quiet,
the old monk said.

~

ALL THOSE DEALS

All those deals
and not even
enough left
for a cup
of coffee --
why do you
do it,
the old monk asked.

~

NO ONE WANTS

No one wants the sadness
but everyone takes the love,
the old monk noticed.

~

YOU'RE LOOKING

You're looking for one
and a hundred show up --
it's hard times,
the old monk said.

~

EVERYTHING

Everything
that rubs off
leaves a smear
on the world
and the world
leaves a smear
on it,
the old monk said.

~



THREE OLD MONK POEMS (281) 


DOING AS MUCH

Doing as much as you can
is as much as you can do,
the old monk said.

~

I GO TO ENOUGH

I've gone to enough doctors
I don't need to see another one,
the old monk said at the end.

~

LATE IS LATE

Late is late
until it's early,
the old monk said.

~



Saturday, August 13, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (280) 


MAYBE GOD

Maybe God is busy
on Sunday and you should

pray another day,
the old monk said.

~

WHERE YOU CRASHLAND

Where you crashland
is the last place

you want to be,
the old monk said.

~

IF YOU CAN THROW

If you can throw a cow
over the castle wall
you can have the job,

the old monk told
the applicant.

~



IN THE NEWS 


This strange weather --
even the birds are wondering
what the hell,
the old monk said.



Friday, August 12, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (279) 


WHAT YOU NEED

What you need to settle
is yourself, and

not the argument,
the old monk said.

~

EVERY STAR

Every star
is someone else's

except this one,
the sun, it's ours,

the old monk said
with some affection.

~

I COULD GO ON

I could go on stage
and say these things

and they'd think it
was a show,

the old monk said,
particularly if

there was alcohol.

~



Thursday, August 11, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (278) 


IF YOU ARE

If you are worried
about what the poem means

you are not worried
about the poem,

the old monk said.

~

A POEM IS

A poem is a room.
Here is the door.

Come in,
the old monk said.

~

A POEM

A poem is words
playing with each other,
the old monk says.

~



Wednesday, August 10, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (277) 


IN WHAT UNIVERSE

In what universe
does God love us?

Not in this one,
despite what his

representatives
here will tell you,

the old monk said.

~

IF YOU ARE

If you are
holy when

your time on
the mountain

is finished,
the old monk

tells his students,
you will go

to dwell in
the Sky House.

~

ONLY THOSE

Only those of you
who can fly can know
what the gods want,

the old monk reminded
his students.

~



Tuesday, August 09, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (276) 


UNLESS YOU BE

Unless you be broken
you cannot be made whole

and you cannot touch God,
the old monk told his students.

~

THE SOUL BUZZES

The soul buzzes
like a bee

when it leaves
the body --

listen for it
when you die,

the old monk said.

~

YES, THAT STAR

Yes, that star
which does not

move some call
the Sky Nail, or

the Nail Star,
and it is

the stake to
which all Star

Horses are
tethered, the

old monk said.



IN THE NEWS 


Where will you swim
when the oceans boil,
the old monk asked.



Monday, August 08, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (275) 


HE ABOVE

He Above seldom comes
to our aid when we are

attacked by Kalau the Evil --
pray accordingly,

the old monk said.

~

IN THE DAYS

In the days
of Great Crow

all men could fly.
Now only

a few monks do,
the old monk said.

~

NO ONE ASCENDS

No one ascends
the mountain
by his own choice --

he must be
invited,
the old monk says.

~



Sunday, August 07, 2022

TEN OLD MONK POEMS (79) 


DEATH IS

Death is
the last stage
of discipline,
the old monk said.

~

THE HARSH TRUTH

The harsh truth
is the last one
to get tested,
the old monk said.

~

SOMETIMES SILENCE

Sometimes silence
is a djinn
in the desert,
the old monk said.

~

IT'LL WORK

It'll work that way
til the wheels come off,
the old monk predicted.

~

SOME NIGHTS

Some nights
I go all night
without talking
to the stars --
it doesn't
happen often,
the old monk said.

~

YOU PAINT YOURSELF

You paint yourself
into a corner
by thinking it,
the old monk said.

~

THE GLOW

The glow is what you want
when the light shines on you,
the old monk said.

~

WHEN YOU'RE LOST

When you're lost in the woods
find the Grandmother Tree
and ask her to protect you,
the old monk advised.

~

THE FIRST ONE IN

The first one in
isn't always
the first one
to start work,
the old monk noted.

~

YOU WILL HEAR

You will hear the crickets
if you listen for them
and if you listen well enough
you'll learn their song,
the old monk said.


~



Saturday, August 06, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (274) 


THE OLD MONK

The old monk
will be there

when you need
him. Just call

out his name.

~

WHEN I WAS A WOLF

When I was a wolf
my language was difficult

to understand. These words
show that I am a man now,

the old monk said.

~

THE SUPREME GOD

The Supreme God
is Something.

The others range
from Anything

to Nothing
and none of them

are helpful,
the old monk said.

~



Friday, August 05, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (273) 


When thunder speaks,
the old pine trembles,
the old monk said.

~

TO FIND YOUR WAY

To find your way
it is not enough
to know how to pray --

you must also know
how to fly,

the old monk told
his students.

~

WHEN THE MOON

When the moon comes
down to the mountain

the hermit speaks to God,
the old monk said.

~



IN THE NEWS 


Tweets That Saved the World
will be a very small book,
the old monk predicted.



Thursday, August 04, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (272) 


THERE IS NO TIME

There is no time
as you drum your
way to the sky.

Only the dead
speak for the dead,
the old monk says.

~

THEY CALL ME

They call me
the Man Who Flies

but I am instead
the One Who Prays,

the old monk said.

~

GOOD AND EVIL

Good and evil
are designations

like that of a river,
upstream and down,

the old monk said.

~



Wednesday, August 03, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (271) 


WHAT YOU HOLD

What you hold onto
is what keeps you
from flying,

the old monk told
his new students.

~

THE OLD HERMITS

The old hermits
on the mountain

talk to the spirits.
At night, sometimes,

that's what your hear,
their moaning,

the old monk said.

~

THE MONK'S ROBE

The monk's robe
is only

for the monk.
No one else

can wear the
spirits stitched

into it.

~



Tuesday, August 02, 2022

IN THE NEWS 


All the signs said
don't mess with mother earth --
didn't you see them,
the old monk asked.



THREE OLD MONK POEMS (270) 


SOMETIMES THE ROOF

Sometimes the roof
of his hut opens

and the old monk is
lifted to the sky

where all the watchers
watch. Sometimes he

meets God. He does not
speak of this often.

~

SOME ON THE MOUNTAIN

Some on the mountain
do not know how to pray,

but only how to dance,
and God dances with them,

the old monk said.

~

THE MONK'S ROBE

The monk's robe,
yes, because

he does not do
ordinary work.

~



Monday, August 01, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (269) 


IT IS NOT

It is not
that I want
to be holy,

it is that
I have
touched God,

the old monk said.

~

YOU GO UP

You go up the mountain
and ascend into the Presence

through a whole in the sky.
The Presence is like us

except it is light.
We are merely crystals.

When you come back to us
you will be filled with light.

This is what the old monk said.
This is what he believes.

~

TO BE LEFT-

To be left-
handed is

to be blessed,
the old monk says.

~



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