Sunday, November 20, 2022

TEN OLD MONK POEMS (94) 


YOU WAIT

You wait.
That's what you do,
whether the poems
come, or not,
the old monk said.

~

SOME WHO SING

Some who sing of sorrow
only know that song,
the old monk noticed.

~

THE WIND

The wind
doesn't always
tell you
what's coming --
it doesn't
always know,
the old monk said.

~

WHAT I KNOW

What I know is
one side of the story,
the old monk said.
What I don't know
is the other.

~

LEAVING THE PEACH

Leaving the peach
to ripen,
patience grows sweet,
the old monk said.

~

PAIN DOESN'T KNOW

Pain doesn't know
anything else,
the old monk said.

~

UNHAPPINESS

Unhappiness
is a lonely business,
especially on the mountain,
the old monk told
his students.

~

ASK

Ask
who wants to
and see
who doesn't
say no,
the old monk said.

~

IF THAT'S WHAT

If that's what I say
I'm going to do
and I do it,
why are they surprised,
the old monk asked.

~

IF I SAY IT

If I say it
and you don't
write it down,
I didn't say it,
the old monk said.

~



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