Sunday, February 14, 2021
TEN OLD MONK POEMS (2)
NOTHING IS
Nothing is certain
the old monk says,
until you let go
of knowing.
~
ON THE MOUNTAIN
On the mountain,
when you call my name,
the old monk says,
only crows will answer.
~
I HAVE WRITTEN
I have written
all these lines
these many years,
the old monk said,
to find the one
I'm looking for.
~
IF I WERE
If I were as wise
as you think I am,
the old monk said,
I would already
be a star fixed
high in the sky.
~
WITHOUT LOVE
Without love, yes,
the old monk says,
life goes on. But not
without music.
~
ZEN IS
Zen is
in the things
of this world,
the old monk says,
and beyond them.
It is both
and neither.
~
SO MANY MEN
So many men,
the old monk says,
are busy in
the business
of this world
when what they
should do is
loaf like God.
~
TO BE THIS
To be this,
whatever
this is, and
fully this,
the old monk
says, is
the emptiness
you seek.
There is your
entrance.
~
YOU KEEP FILLING
You keep filling
the emptiness,
the old monk says,
when emptiness is
where joy lives.
~
I WOULD NOT
I would not
keep preaching,
the old monk says,
but you still don't
understand
the stillness.
~
