Friday, September 30, 2022

IN THE NEWS 


Times are tough and we're
not going to help,
the old monk heard the rich
men tell their neighbors.
Again.



THREE OLD MONK POEMS (325) 


IF YOU WORK IT

If you work it
on Sunday

you won't get it
done -- that's

a day of rest,
the old monk said.

~

YOU THINK YOU'VE

You think you've just about
run out, then

God almighty, there's
another one

in time for breakfast,
the old monk said.

~

YOU COULD

You could
if you wanted

but it's getting
you started

that worries me,
the old monk told

the lazy student.

~



Thursday, September 29, 2022

IN THE NEWS 


You want your words
to always wrestle fair,
the old monk said.



THREE OLD MONK POEMS (324) 


NOT ENOUGH

Not enough is
still a lot but

usually that
doesn't matter,

the old monk says.

~

WHEN YOU HOLD

When you hold on
you don't know enough

about letting go,
the old monk suggested.

~

THERE ARE A LOT

There are a lot
of places on

the mountain
I haven't found

yet, the old monk
said. This meant

he'd be awhile.

~



Wednesday, September 28, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (323) 


THE OLD MONK TALKING

The old monk talking --
how much of this
is just the wind,
his students wondered.

~

IT IS IN

It is in
lifting my eyes

I lift my heart,
the old monk says.

~

IF YOU CAN'T

If you can't
put them away

as fast as I can
set them out,

we'll never get done,
the old monk said.

~



IN THE NEWS 


Warning! Warning!
the old monk said.
You can tell only
so many lies
and then you die.



Tuesday, September 27, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (322) 


WHEN I'M ALL

When I'm all here
I'm not all there,
the old monk admitted.

~

IT WAS A BIG ONE

It was a big one,
the storm that blew
through him,

the old monk
on the mountain.

~

IF I TOLD

If I told you
everything I know,

I'd burn my supper
the old monk said.

~



IN THE NEWS 


They give us a little news
so they have something to
put the ads around,
the old monk said.



Monday, September 26, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (321) 


YUP, THEY SAID

Yup, they said
about the old monk,

with him it's
a full stop

and a left turn
and then you

don't know where
he's going.

~

A SET OF ODD

A set of odd
and a set of even

is what you want,
the old monk said.

~

IF IT'S TRICKS

If it's tricks you want,
there are more talented monks,
the old monk said.

~



Sunday, September 25, 2022

TEN OLD MONK POEMS (86) 


SOMETIMES YOU SPLIT IT

Sometimes you split it
and they don't know
how much goes with
which part, but it keeps
the professors in business,
the old monk told
the poet.

~

I TELL MYSELF

I tell myself
the world's story
to understand it,
the old monk said.

~

SOME DAYS WE GET FAT

Some days we get fat
and some days we go lean --
it's up and down
on the mountain,
the old monk said.

~

A DARK SKY

A dark sky
marked with stars.
In the old pine
the spirits
are talking,
the old monk
reported.

~

JUST THROW THEM

Just throw them
anywhere.
No one cares
til it's time to
pick them up,
the old monk said.

~

PROMISING

Promising
to make no
promises --
how does that
work,
the old monk
wondered.

~

WHEN YOU DON'T KNOW

When you don't know
the question,
anyone can see you
an answer,
the old monk said.

~

IF YOU MAKE ENOUGH

If you make enough
predictions,
some of them
will happen,
the old monk said.

~

THIRD ON A MATCH

Third on a match,
third past the rattlesnake --
you want to be
first or second,
the old monk said.

~

SOME OF THE THINGS

Some of the things you say
have your father's accent,
the master told the old monk.

~



THREE OLD MONK POEMS (320) 


THE WIND IS

The wind is a warning,
the old monk said.

~

YOU KNOW WHEN

You know when sadness
lays down beside you

it's going to be a long night,
the old monk said.

You just know.

~

THE MASKED BANDIT

The masked bandit
doesn't spread Covid
when he takes your money,
the old monk said.

~



IN THE NEWS 


Kindness
is less expensive
than hate,
the old monk said.



Friday, September 23, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (319) 

 THREE OLD MONK POEMS (319)

TONIGHT THE STARS

Tonight the stars
are telling stories

about their childhood,
the old monk said.

O, such stories.

~

IT WAS IOWA

It was Iowa.
It was dark.

The stars knew
their business,

the old monk said
about his vacation.

~

YOU ENJOY

You enjoy
anything

when you have
nothing.

You enjoy
nothing

when you have
everything,

the old monk said.
That's just

the way we are.

~



Thursday, September 22, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (318) 


ALL YOU HAVE

All you have left
when you're done

is nothing --
that's when you

start over,
the old monk said

about re-incarnation.

~

IF SHE HAS

If she has time to
put her dress on straight

before she has to go,
maybe she shouldn't,

the old monk said
with a wink.

~

WHAT I SAY

What I say
I say to say,

the old monk said.
I don't expect you

to believe it.

~



Wednesday, September 21, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (317) 

 
THE STARS DON'T

The stars don't have to
understand the numbers,
the old monk said.
They're blessed that way.

~

ALL THINGS

All things line up
in one direction

or they don't,
the old monk says.

You get one life
or the other.

~

YOU COULD OFFER

You could offer
more but it's not

money he wants,
the old monk said

about the hermit.

~



Tuesday, September 20, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (316) 

 
SOMETIMES THE ROAD

Sometimes the road
turns before
you want to --

you have to
be ready,
the old monk said.

~

WE COULD TAKE

We could take him
to the library

but it wouldn't
make him wiser,

they said about
the old monk.

~

EVERY NIGHT

Every night
an hour or two

of peace and quiet
might make you

half a saint,
the old monk said.

~



IN THE NEWS 


If you keep bending us, Lord,
we're going to break,
the old monk said. Please.



Monday, September 19, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (315) 


IT'S WISDOM

It's wisdom
til you weigh it,

the old monk said
about his lectures.

~

YOU CAN'T GET

You can't get to heaven
if you can't laugh,
the old monk said.

~

DON'T THINK

Don't think
that thinking

about it
is ever

enough,
the old monk said.

~



IN THE NEWS 


There are no words for
what there is no words for,
the old monk said.



Sunday, September 18, 2022

TEN OLD MONK POEMS (85) 


IF THE TRICKS

If the tricks
don't fool them,
you'd better be
funny,
the old monk said.

~

FUNNY

Funny
is a business
and it's a
funny business,
the comedian
told the old monk.

~

THEY WANT US

They want us
to be funny
and then they'll
pay us,
the old monk
told the band.

~

SOMETIMES YOU'RE

Sometimes you're
74
before
you realize
you've always been
an old man,
the old monk said.
Sometimes you're
85.

~

I GET AROUND

I get around well enough
for a man with limited prospects,
the old monk admitted.

~

IN A POEM

In a poem
something has to

rhyme. It doesn't
always have to

be the words,
the old monk said.

~

TAKE OFF EVERYTHING

Take off everything --
pretty soon you'll see
what you are,
the old monk said.

~

WHAT DOES THE WORLD

What does the world
slap you with?
That's what you're
supposed to pursue,
the old monk said.

~

I HAVE WORKED SO HARD

I have worked so hard
to say so little --
I wonder why,
the old monk said.

~

SOMETIMES SADNESS

Sometimes sadness
is like straw
out the back
of the thresher,
even as it
shines in the sun,
the old monk said.

~



IN THE NEWS 


Save some for later
is a rich man's privilege,
the old monk said.



THREE OLD MONK POEMS (314) 


THOSE THREE

Those three,
the old monk said,

you can't break them
into pairs.

~

IS THIS WHAT

Is this what I want to do,
to teach you,

the old monk asked,

or shall I have
a bowl of ice cream?

~

I WANT

I want the one
that wants the other,
the old monk said.

~



Saturday, September 17, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (313) 


WHAT WANT

What want wants
is wanting,
the old monk said.

~

IF YOU LIKE

If you like to
lose your patience,

don't go fishing,
the old monk said.

~

NAME IT

Name it
and label it

and break it,
then see

if anyone
wants it

at twice
the price,

the old monk
advised.

~



IN THE NEWS 


The big shots
should find time
for kindness,
the old monk said.



Friday, September 16, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (312) 


IF IT'S WHAT

If it's what you want,
that's what I've got,
the old monk promised.

~

NOTHING GOES

Nothing goes
when anything goes,
the old monk said.

~

IT'S TOMORROW

It's tomorrow
when the stars

say good-night,
the old monk said.

~



IN THE NEWS 


In every iteration
they get to this point
and make a mess of it,
these humans,
the gods told the old monk.



Thursday, September 15, 2022

IN THE NEWS 


When I send
my soldiers
to do a job,
they do the job,
the dictator told
the old monk,
mistakenly.



THREE OLD MONK POEMS (311) 


WHAT IS

What is pleasure
but the flush of what

flushes us,
the old monk said.

~

ABOUT ENOUGH

About enough
is always what

you want to
offer,

the old monk said,
or slightly more.

~

NOT TOO MANY

Not too many
is about enough

except for grapes
and glasses of wine,

the old monk said.

~



Wednesday, September 14, 2022

IN THE NEWS 


Every angel
is needed --
that's how things
are going,
the old monk said.



THREE OLD MONK POEMS (310) 


IF THAT'S

If that's
what I said,

that's what
I wanted

to say,
the old monk

said.

~

WHERE THE BISCUITS

Where the biscuits are
is where there's breakfast,
the old monk taught them.

~

WHO AM I

Who am I
to know
who I am,

the old monk
wondered.

~



Tuesday, September 13, 2022

IN THE NEWS 


Left to itself
the earth would
figure it out,
the old monk said.



THREE OLD MONK POEMS (309) 


THE STARS ARE

The stars are
as many as

there are but
who's counting,

the old monk said.

~

TOO MANY

Too many
is the reason

to go up
the mountain,

the old monk said,

and not
enough

the reason
to stay.

~

YOU DON'T KNOW

You don't know
you don't know

until you know,
the old monk says.

~



Monday, September 12, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (308) 


SHIMMER

Shimmer of sun
on the silver

side of leaves
in the breeze --

storm coming,
the old monk said.

~

IF YOU GO

If you go slow
you can see how fast

everything else is,
the old monk said.

~

IF YOU CAN

If you can find my hut
I'll offer you supper,

if the mountain allows it,
the old monk promised.

~



Sunday, September 11, 2022

TEN OLD MONK POEMS (84) 


JOY

Joy
is a small boy
seeing stars,
the old monk said.

~

IF YOU FALL DOWN

If you fall down
the great hole
you don't get famous.
If you don't fall down,
you do,
the old monk told them.

~

IF HE HAS

If he has a choice
the old monk chooses nothing.

~

BE OPEN

Be open
and wait,
the old monk said.
What comes
comes.

~

THE WORLD IS LIKE

The world is like
a child's drawing
if you see it
with a child's eyes,
the old monk said.

~

IF HE CAN'T FIND

If he can't find the beat
you might need a different drummer,
the old monk said.

~

I AM LIKE THE WIND

I am like the wind,
the old monk said.
There not much to me
but I make the trees shake.

~

NOT UNDERSTANDING

Not understanding
is the first part
of understanding,
the old monk said.

~

WHO IS THIS

Who is this
old monk
to say anything,
the old monk
asked himself.

~

I HAVE BEEN BLESSED

I have been blessed
and still I curse,
the old monk admitted.

~



IN THE NEWS 


What goes around
comes around
sometimes grinds slowly,
the old monk said.
Today it's grinding
fine.



THREE OLD MONK POEMS (307) 


YOU CAN'T

You can't stand
more of it

if you can't
stand,

the old drunk
told the monk.

~

IF THE STARS

If the stars were not so busy,
the old monk said,
I might have got some sleep.

~

YOU DO

You do
the thing
you do,

you can't
NOT
do it,

the old
monk said.

~



Saturday, September 10, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (306) 


HUMILITY

Humility
is being able

to see the stars,
the old monk says.

~

WE ALL SEE

We all see everything --
it's just that it's different
for each of us.

You don't want to know
more than that,
the old monk said.

~

MOST NIGHTS

Most nights
midnight

is not
mid-night,

the old monk said.

~



Friday, September 09, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (305) 


IT'S ALWAYS THE DEAL

It's always the deal
you didn't make

you think about,
the old monk says.

~

FOR THOSE WHO

For those who don't know,
anything seems possible,
the old monk says.

~

WHAT YOU THINK

What you think
it is is not

what it is,
the old monk says.

~



IN THE NEWS 


There are always
a lot of bones
along the boundaries,
the old monk noticed.



Thursday, September 08, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (304) 


TEACH YOURSELF

Teach yourself to learn
or learn to teach yourself,

either one,
the old monk said.

~

IF LOVE

If love is like
a weight on you,

you got
the wrong bottle,

the old monk said.

~

GOSSIP

Gossip
keeps you
honest,
the old
monk said.

~



Wednesday, September 07, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (303) 


NOTICE THE V

Notice the V in love
and wonder what

it's pointing to,
the old monk said.

~

SOMETIMES THE OLD MONK

Sometimes the old monk
talks to his students,

sometimes to the congregation,
sometimes the whole naked public.

~

SOMETIMES YOU SIT

Sometimes you sit
waiting for transmissions
and the radio's dead,
the old monk told
the poet.

~



Tuesday, September 06, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (302) 


SOMETIMES THE DARKNESS

Sometimes the darkness,
sometimes the light.
It doesn't help to move
unless you're headed south,
the old monk says.

~

IF YOU SAY

If you say
I'm losing my mind,

it means you think
I have one,

so pay attention,
the old monk said.

~

IT'S AN EXPERIMENT

It's an experiment,
the old monk said. I'm
trying to see the edge
of the universe.

~



IN THE NEWS 


You know how,
for long TV series,
the writing in later seasons
isn't as good?
I think we're getting there
as a country,
the old monk said.



Monday, September 05, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (301) 


THE UNIVERSE

The universe
doesn't have to
understand the rules,

the old monk told
the astronomer.

~

LIGHT IS BOTH

Light is both
particle and wave,
the old monk said.

That's something only
God could think.

~

WRITE IT UPSIDE

Write it upside down,
write it rightside up --

it doesn't matter
until somebody

goes to read it,
the old monk said.

~



Sunday, September 04, 2022

TEN OLD MONK POEMS (83) 


IF YOU DON'T KNOW

If you don't know
who the angel is,
they are all angels,
the old monk said.

~

HOW MUCH WISDOM

How much wisdom
is enough,
the old monk asked.
The master said,
There is no
answer to that.

~

EMPTINESS IS A SONG

Emptiness is a song
you haven't learned to sing,
the old monk told his student.

~

SO MUCH

So much
depends on
so much,
the old monk said.

~

THE MOON COMES UP

The moon comes up,
I think of night-plowing
and my father,
the old monk said.

~

IF YOU'RE GOING TO

If you're going to fly,
don't fly feet first,
the old monk said.

~

THINGS FALL OFF

Things fall off --
we don't charge
extra for that,
the old monk told
the shoppers.

~

GOING UP THE MOUNTAIN

Going up the mountain
the first turn is a left turn,
the old monk told his students.

~

TIME IS

Time is gravity
divided by the speed of light --
did I really say that,
the old monk asked.

~

YOU DON'T KNOW

You don't know
what you know
until you've put
your mark on it,
the old monk said.

~



THREE OLD MONK POEMS (300) 


IF THE STARS

If the stars understood themselves
they wouldn't be any brighter,
the old monk said.

~

WHAT'S BEHIND

What's behind you
doesn't matter so much

unless you're going
backwards,

the old monk said.

~

IF YOU THINK

If you think too much
about the music,
you forget to play,

the old monk
warned the band.

~



Saturday, September 03, 2022

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (299) 


HE WANTS TO

He wants to sound serious
but is afraid it's all nonsense --

does that remind you
of anyone,

the old monk asked
his students.

~

ON THE MOUNTAIN

On the mountain
for a little while

you're not on earth,
the old monk said,

that holy moment.

~

THE STARS MOVE

The stars move
at terrible speed

and we move with them,
the old monk said.

~



Thursday, September 01, 2022

IN THE NEWS 


Only the rich
could enjoy being poor,
the old monk said.
The rest of us have to
live here.



THREE OLD MONK POEMS (298) 


THEY ALWAYS LOVE

They always love
who goes up
the mountain

and they fear
who comes back down,
the old monk said.

~

BEING STRUCK

Being struck by lightning
is like talking to God

only it doesn't take
so long to recover,

the old monk said.

~

IT TAKES A MOUNTAIN

It takes a mountain
and a lifetime

to find the moment
the world accepts you,

the old monk said.



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