Tuesday, June 29, 2021
NEBRASKA SANDHILLS (25)
Monday, June 28, 2021
NEBRASKA SANDHILLS (24)
Sunday, June 27, 2021
TEN OLD MONK POEMS (21)
IF IT FEELS SO
If it feels so
much like work,
the old monk
asked the poet,
why do you
keep doing it?
~
NOT EVERYTHING
Not everything
you let go of
lets go of you,
the old monk said.
~
YOU CAN'T SEE
You can't see colors
you don't have names for,
the old monk said.
~
SOMETIMES SHADOW
Sometimes shadow
moves faster than light,
the old monk says.
He's full of such wisdom.
~
HOW MUCH
How much can I tell you
about the old monk
before I'm telling you
about you and me?
~
YOU HOLD
You hold your hand
in front of your face,
I still know who you are,
the old monk said,
which is what some
fellow told me to tell you,
to see what you believe.
~
SOMETIMES
Sometimes
in the
cool of
evening
even the
old monk
lets down.
~
IF THAT'S ALL
If that's all
you got to sell,
the old monk said,
take it to
another stall.
~
HOW MANY
How many of those
do you suppose
they have, they asked
the old monk.
I don't know, he said,
and I wouldn't
want to count.
~
IF YOU STAY
If you stay
this side of
the dust storm,
the old monk said,
it's always
windy.
~
NEBRASKA SANDHILLS (23)
Saturday, June 26, 2021
NEBRASKA SANDHILLS (22)
Friday, June 25, 2021
NEBRASKA SANDHILLS (21)
Thursday, June 24, 2021
NEBRASKA SANDHILLS (20)
Wednesday, June 23, 2021
NEBRASKA SANDHILLS (19)
Tuesday, June 22, 2021
NEBRASKA SANDHILLS (18)
You could make
a straight line
all the way to
Chadron, but why
would you want to?
The Sandhills
don't care.
Monday, June 21, 2021
NEBRASKA SANDHILLS (17)
Sunday, June 20, 2021
TEN OLD MONK POEMS (20)
SOMEONE SAYS
Someone says
Stop,
put down your pencils.
The old monk
keeps writing.
~
WELL, THAT’S HOW
Well, that’s how
you do it,
the old monk said,
you just don’t
stop.
~
I ALREADY TOLD YOU
I already told you,
the old monk said,
I have to do this.
They’ve kidnapped my mother.
~
IF YOU DO YOUR CHORES
If you do your chores
when it’s time for doing,
the old monk says,
they’ll be done
when it's time for fun.
~
LESS
Less
is more,
the old monk says,
when that’s
the way
it’s going.
~
ALL NIGHT
All night
the trees holding
the dark earth,
the old monk says.
It’s a story
the stars
already know.
~
IF HE SMILES
If he smiles,
his face will break,
the old monk said.
You have
a wrathful God.
~
EVEN IF
Even if there is a God
I couldn’t say
I’d believe him,
the old monk said.
I’ve been lied to
too many times.
~
IT'S NOT AS IF
It's not as if
all the answers
have questions,
the old monk says.
~
IF THIS ISN'T
If this isn't
what you have
to do,
the old monk said,
don't do it.
The mountain
doesn't need you.
Does that answer
your question?
~
NEBRASKA SANDHILLS (16)
Saturday, June 19, 2021
NEBRASKA SANDHILLS (15)
Friday, June 18, 2021
NEBRASKA SANDHILLS (14)
Thursday, June 17, 2021
NEBRASKA SANDHILLS (13)
Wednesday, June 16, 2021
NEBRASKA SANDHILLS (12)
Tuesday, June 15, 2021
NEBRASKA SANDHILLS (11)
Monday, June 14, 2021
NEBRASKA SANDHILLS (10)
These are not your
Sandhills to write
about, the wind
tells the poet.
The poet doesn't
listen to the wind,
but to the stars.
Sunday, June 13, 2021
TEN OLD MONK POEMS (19)
IT'S NOT WHAT'S
It's not what's
in the basket
that's important,
the old monk says.
What's important
is that you
bring it.
~
SEE HOW I DO THAT
See how I do that,
the old monk said,
directing the sunset.
It's all in the wrist.
~
IT DOESN'T MATTER
It doesn't matter
how you die,
the old monk says.
When you're dead,
you're dead.
~
YOU THINK ABOUT
You think about funerals,
of course you see darkness,
and the darkness sees you,
the old monk said.
~
PUT IT THERE
Put it there, the old monk said,
if that's where you want to put it.
I understand he bites.
~
YOU WANT MORE?
You want more? More?
the old monk said.
Then you carry it
up the mountain.
~
THERE IS SOMEWHERE
There is somewhere
an angel, whether you think
you need one or not,
the old monk says.
~
ALL THE THINGS
All the things you want to say
you don't say outloud,
the old monk says, is what
marks you as a wise man.
~
THAT'S THE WAY
That's the way it is
in the monastery,
the old monk says,
biscuits and gravy
every day
for breakfast.
~
IF I COULD
If I could I would
sell you a dozen more
at half the price,
the old monk said,
but I have to
make a living.
~
NEBRASKA SANDHILLS (9)
Saturday, June 12, 2021
NEBRASKA SANDHILLS (8)
Friday, June 11, 2021
NEBRASKA SANDHILLS (7)
Thursday, June 10, 2021
NEBRASKA SANDHILLS (6)
Wednesday, June 09, 2021
NEBRASKA SANDHILLS (5)
Tuesday, June 08, 2021
NEBRASKA SANDHILLS (4)
Monday, June 07, 2021
NEBRASKA SANDHILLS (3)
Sunday, June 06, 2021
TEN OLD MONK POEMS (18)
ROUND AND ROUND
Round and round
the mulberry tree,
the old monk says,
what an awful
way to die.
~
IF THE SUN
If the sun
doesn't come up,
you don't want to
get up either,
the old monk said.
~
HOW LONG
How long can you
stay still before
they think you're dead,
the old monk asked.
Stay still that long.
~
WHAT YOU WANT
What you want is to
silence the darkness,
the old monk says.
You don't want to
silence the light.
~
IF SOMEONE WANTS IT
If someone wants it,
someone will make it,
the old monk said.
That's how you end up
with crap like this.
~
SOMETIMES YOU LEARN
Sometimes you learn
the most just by
sitting still,
the old monk said.
~
YOUR BODY
Your body,
it's just an old
piece of meat.
It's the way
the world eats you,
the old monk said.
~
IT'S AS IF
It's as if
life's an empty
box and when
you've filled it,
that's it,
the old monk said.
I wish I could be
more reassuring.
~
WIND AND THE RAIN
Wind and the rain
are friends,
the old monk said.
Be friends with them.
~
NEBRASKA SANDHILLS (2)
Saturday, June 05, 2021
NEBRASKA SANDHILLS (1)
Friday, June 04, 2021
IN SOME LANGUAGE (59)
Tuesday, June 01, 2021
WHERE THE ROCK
