Thursday, March 30, 2023

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (443) 


DUCK LIKE YOU DON'T

Duck like you don't
know it's coming,

the old monk told
the stuntman.

~

THE AIR WAS

The air was heavy
and then the rain

was heavier,
the old monk told them.

~

THEY ALWAYS BREAK

They always break
about where they want to,

however I try to land,
the old monk said

about his bones.

~



Tuesday, March 28, 2023

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (442) 

 
SOMETIMES THE MOUNTAIN

Sometimes the mountain
and sometimes the old monk

on the mountain, and
sometimes the silence,

his students said.

~

THE MOUNTAIN WANTS

The mountain wants
everything you've got,

every last drop of blood,
every bit of flesh,

the old monk said.

~

SOMETIMES NO MATTER

Sometimes no matter
how you say it,

it comes out backwards,
the old monk said.

~



Monday, March 27, 2023

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (441) 


WHEN WHAT YOU DO

When what you do
undoes what you did,

it's time for a nap,
the old monk said.

~

THE HERMIT TOLD

The hermit told the old monk
 sometimes he bathes in the lake,
then the water tastes bad for weeks.

~

IF SOMEONE HAS

If someone has
what you want

you want them
to want

what you have,
the old monk said.

~



Sunday, March 26, 2023

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (440) 


WISDOM

Wisdom
on the mountain
makes a few

moments of
difference,
the old monk said.

~

I'M NOT SO

I'm not so ambitious
as to make my cats nervous,
the old monk admitted.

~

THERE IS A LINE

There is a line you hear,
clear as a drummer marking the beat,

and you have to say it --
that's what makes you poets,

the old monk said.

~



Saturday, March 25, 2023

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (439) 


RAIN FILLS

Rain fills the shadows
and the mountain goes quiet.

The old monk puts
out his candle.

Silence.

~

AS WITH EVERYTHING

As with everything
you push it

til it pushes back,
the old monk said.

~

SOMETIMES I UNDERSTAND

Sometimes I understand
what I'm saying

the same time you do,
the old monk told his students.

~



Friday, March 24, 2023

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (438) 


IS THAT REALLY

Is that really
what I want --

to catch another
lightning strike,

the old monk
asked himself.

~

THE GRASS

The grass
tells the rock

rain and cold
are my friends,

the old monk said.

~

THE MOUNTAIN UNDERSTANDS

The mountain understands
the hermits we don't,
the old monk said.

~



Thursday, March 23, 2023

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (437) 


SOMETIMES YOU JUST

Sometimes you just have to say
I might as well peel carrots

and listen to the rain,
the old monk said.

~

IF YOU CAN'T

If you can't do the sums in your head
you will need faster fingers,
the old monk said.

~

THIS IS

This is
mountain.

This is
sun and moon.

They are
brilliance.

What is
silence,

the old monk asked.

~



Tuesday, March 21, 2023

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (436) 


HOW CAN YOU

How can you
put it together

when I can't,
the old monk asked

his biographer.

~

THERE ARE ONLY

There are only
so many corners

to stand in
before you learn

your lesson,
the old monk warned

his students.

~

OBSESSION IS

Obsession is
a balky mule

and you have to
harness it,

the old monk said.

~




Sunday, March 19, 2023

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (435) 


MOSS IS

Moss is the state
between rock and grass,
the old monk said.

~

WHAT DO YOU GET

What do you get
when you split

the difference,
the old monk

wanted to ask.

~

IF YOU LEAVE

If you leave
all the clean-up

for the other guy,
you can bet

he'll leave you
a mess,

the old monk said.

~




Saturday, March 18, 2023

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (434) 


DONE DOESN'T

Done doesn't know
that it's done when

it wants to go
another round,

the old monk said.

~

A WHITE BACKGROUND

A white background
works for most things,

but not for polar bears,
and no for winter storms,

the old monk said.

~

IF YOU WANT

If you want
to hide it

in plain sight,
put it where

nobody sees,
the old monk said.

~



Friday, March 17, 2023

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (432) 


WISDOM IS LIKE

Wisdom is like
the universe --

full of dark energy
and dark matter,

the old monk said.

~

MOST EVERYTHING

Most everything is worth
next to nothing,

the old monk said
at the dollar store.

~

WHAT IT

What it doesn't seem to be
is so often what it is,
the old monk warned his students.

~



Wednesday, March 15, 2023

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (432) 


WHEN YOU GO

When you go
to the mountain

it is not
the mountain

you're going to,
the old monk said.

~

UNDERSTANDING

Understanding everything
makes you wonder

what you've missed,
the old monk said.

~

YOU DO

You do
the deal

with the devil,
or you don't

do the deal --
it's all the same

to the stars,
the old monk said.

~



Monday, March 13, 2023

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (431) 


NECESSITY IS

Necessity is the mother
of backroom deals,
the old monk said.

~

THE LAST ONE

The last one
in line

knows more than
he tells,

the old monk said.

~

ONE KNOWS

One knows
and does not

know -- that is
the mystery

of us
among the stars,

the old monk said.

~



Sunday, March 12, 2023

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (430) 

 
HOW MUCH DO YOU

How much do you have to lose
before you find what you're looking for,
the old monk asked his master.

~

ARE YOU SPEAKING

Are you speaking
of a principle

or an instance,
the old monk asked.

Do you want it
to apply just now

or always?

~

IF YOU UNDERSTAND

If you understand
their numbers,

you can play
their music,

the old monk said
about the orchestra.

~



Saturday, March 11, 2023

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (429) 


THEY ALL NEED

They all need haircuts
and a bath, the hermits

on the mountain,
the old monk said.


~

IF I SPOKE

If I spoke only of berries
and leaves and mushrooms,

you'd think I was some hermit
mumbling on the mountain,

the old monk said.

~

SOMETIMES YOU DON'T

Sometimes you don't
know when it will break

until it does,
the old monk says.

~



Friday, March 10, 2023

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (428) 


ISN'T THAT

Isn't that nothingness
beyond the edge of

the universe just
more space for stars,

the old monk asked.

~

IF I KNEW

If I knew what
was obvious

I wouldn't
have to say it,

the old monk said.

~

THERE ARE NO

There are no
fat hermits

on the mountain,
the old monk said.

~



Thursday, March 09, 2023

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (427) 


A LITTLE APPRECIATION

A little appreciation
is worth a lot

more than money,
the old monk said.

~

INTO WHAT

Into what
did the Big Bang

expand,
the old monk asked,

and what
does it keep

pushing into?

~

IT'S ALWAYS

It's always a test
to see what you can do,

every time you try to fly,
the old monk told his students.

~



Wednesday, March 08, 2023

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (426) 


IF YOU CAN BELIEVE

If you can believe
God is a mountain

that pine tree can be
your angel,

the old monk said.

~

IF YOU WANT

If you want to
speak to the stars,

you have to be
ready to listen,

the old monk said.

~

AGAIN I RAISE

Again I raise my hand
and you don't call on me,
the old monk told the master.

~



Tuesday, March 07, 2023

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (425) 


YOU DON'T FORGET

You don't forget
that you've talked to God
on the mountain,
the old monk said.

~

GO BIG

Go big.
The universe

doesn't think
small thoughts,

the old monk said.

~

THE WISDOM

The wisdom
of knowing

is not knowing,
the old monk said.

~



Monday, March 06, 2023

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (424) 


YOU CAN ONLY

You can throw
only curves

in this universe,
the old monk said.

~

IF SHE UNDRESSES

If she undresses,
that is temptation,

and reason to take
yourself back up

the mountain,
the old monk said.

~

IF YOU ONLY

If you only do enough to get by
you won't scrub the paint off anything,
the old monk said.

~



Sunday, March 05, 2023

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (423) 


THINK ABOUT

Think about words.
Pretty soon

you won't be able
to think about

anything else,
the old monk told

the poet.

~

INTERESTING

Interesting
how we learn
to recognize

what we
recognize and
everything else

looks like
gibberish,
the old monk said.

~

WHO WRITES

Who writes in the dark
means to write the truth,
the old monk said.

~



Saturday, March 04, 2023

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (422) 


PAINT THE TOWN

Paint the town red
and you leave

a good trail,
the old monk said.

~

THE DIRECTION OF GOD

The direction of God
is north by northwest,

the old monk told
his students.

And that is where
the universe is headed.

~

WHAT SLIDES

What slides into
home plate

is not always
the winning run,

the old monk said.

~




Friday, March 03, 2023

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (421) 


EVERYTHING THEY NEED

Everything they need to know
you should be able to tell them

with one or two syllable words,
the old monk told the teachers.

Anything more is showing off.

~

BE AWARE

Be aware of what the silence means
when you say something which confuses them,
the old monk told the teachers.

~

SAINTS SIN

Saints sin and sinners
are sometimes holy,
the old monk admitted.

~



Wednesday, March 01, 2023

THREE OLD MONK POEMS (420) 


IS IT FINISHED

Is it finished
if it's not

carved in stone,
the old monk asked.

~

ENOUGH

Enough is enough
when you start

keeping track,
the old monk said.

~

WHERE THERE IS

Where there is moonlight
is a good place
to put the window,

the old monk told
the carpenter.

~



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