Wednesday, September 29, 2021
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (19)
SOMETIMES
Sometimes
there's nothing
behind the thunder
but wind,
the old monk says.
~
JUST ABOUT
Just about all of it
is what's left of nothing
when everything's done,
the old monk said.
~
YOU CAN SLEEP
You can sleep
when morning comes,
the old monk told himself.
Now listen to the stars.
~
Tuesday, September 28, 2021
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (18)
THE OLD MONK SAYS
The old monk says
if I loosen up
I might come apart.
~
HALFWAY BETWEEN
Halfway between
when the sun
goes down and
the sun comes up
I hide in the light
of the moon,
the old monk says.
~
THE OLD PINES
The old pines
make their slow plans,
the old monk says.
Trees have to think
of forever.
~
Monday, September 27, 2021
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (17)
WITH PARADOX
With paradox
there's something
there that's also
over there, and
I am in between,
the old monk says.
~
AH, THESE POEMS
Ah, these poems,
the old monk says,
like a hundred birds
flying together
seeking their roost.
~
IMAGINATION
Imagination:
you can call it
in, the old monk
says, but you can't
grab and pull it.
~
Sunday, September 26, 2021
TEN OLD MONK POEMS (34)
LEAVE OUT
Leave out what you want to --
everyone knows
what the silence means,
the old monk said.
~
SOMETHING
Something
will take them
when you're done,
your bones.
Don't worry,
the old monk said.
~
WHAT FALLS
What falls between
is the easiest to lose,
the old monk says.
~
IF I COULD
If I could
make money
doing this,
do your really
think I'd do it,
the old monk asked.
~
AVALANCHE
Avalanche
isn't really
a group decision,
the old monk
explained.
~
HOW FAR FROM
How far from
crossing my t's
and dotting my i's
can I get
before I forget
what I mean,
the old monk
wondered.
~
IT'S JUST
It's just a trick,
the grass says of the wind,
the old monk explained.
~
YOU WANT
You want the knife
to be so sharp
there's no blood
when you're done,
the old monk says.
~
YOU COULD
You could stand there
naked and the old monk
would finish his coffee,
his students say.
~
IF YOU CAN'T
If you can't stay busy
when the boss is not around
he won't keep you,
the old monk advised.
~
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (16)
ALL NIGHT
All night
the stars talking,
the old monk says,
even when
there's wind in
the pines.
~
HOW LONG
How long to wait
depends,
the old monk said,
when waiting for
the mountain to move.
~
I SIT
I sit on a boulder
and think of the moon,
the old monk says.
The moon comes
over the mountain
and thinks of me.
~
Thursday, September 23, 2021
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (15)
HOW TO WRITE
How to write poems,
the old monk said --
ask the weeds to
show you their flowers.
~
WHEN YOU START
When you start
out late,
the old monk says,
sometimes the mountain
is dark before
you get there.
~
AIR IS TO
Air is to wind
as water is to river,
the old monk says,
as breath is to poem.
~
Wednesday, September 22, 2021
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (14)
RELIGION
Religion
is the dark side
of the mountain,
the old monk says.
I live on
this side.
~
THE SOUL
The soul is like
a river, always
finding its way,
the old monk says.
The water doesn't
know where it's going.
~
WHEN EVERYTHING
When everything is
in its proper place
the proper place
is everything,
or so it seems,
the old monk said.
~
Tuesday, September 21, 2021
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (13)
IF MY BONES
If my bones
were any better
than no bones,
I'd be better,
the old monk said.
~
SO THAT'S HOW
So that's how
the fire dies,
the old monk says,
the last atom
of smoke
curling away.
~
THE OLD MONK SAYS
The old monk says
when you don't know
what to say, you should
say what you know.
~
Monday, September 20, 2021
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (12)
I'M AS SERIOUS
I'm as serious
as the stars are,
the old monk said.
All night serious.
~
THE STARS, YES,
The stars, yes,
the old monk says --
they talk all night
and paint the darkness.
~
DON'T
Don't, he said,
the old monk,
don't push me.
I'm going up
the mountain, I'm
not coming back.
~
Sunday, September 19, 2021
TEN OLD MONK POEMS (33)
YOU'LL GO
You'll go
nowhere fast
if you listen
to me,
the old monk told
his students.
~
LIFE AND
Life and death --
from suddenly
to suddenly not,
the old monk says.
~
IF YOU ARE
If you are broken
when you go,
see what you can
break coming back,
the old monk said.
~
DON'T THINK
Don't think you know
the ending before you've
got the whole story,
the old monk says.
~
IT'S / THE TRUTH
It's
the truth
if
it is,
the old
monk says.
~
THE SILENCE PUSHES
The silence pushes us
as if we fall
in and out of existence,
the old monk says.
~
YOU CAN DIVIDE
You can divide them
how you want --
they will still
run together,
the old monk said.
~
YOU CAN WALK
You can walk off the mountain
but you can't walk far,
the old monk told his students.
~
WHO
Who
wants to do
what
the owl does,
the old monk asked.
~
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (11)
I HAVE A CAT
I have a cat,
the old monk said.
She inspires me.
I call her
my mews.
~
YOU THINK I COULD
You think I could
keep walking around
acting like this if
I were holy,
the old monk said.
Don't be silly.
~
WHY DO I OFFER
Why do I offer
this inferior
cup of wine?
It's what I have,
the old monk said.
~
Saturday, September 18, 2021
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (10)
I'LL STAY
I'll stay
as long as
the world
remains quiet,
the old monk
promised.
~
THEN THE SILENCE
Then the silence
then the silence
then the silence
the old monk said,
pounding the beat.
~
HOW FAR
How far
into the room
can you go
before
you're out
of room,
the old monk
wondered.
~
Thursday, September 16, 2021
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (9)
WHAT DO FIREFLIES
What do fireflies know
that crickets don't,
the old monk wondered.
They both know summer.
~
YOU KNEW
You knew who I was
when you opened the gate,
the old monk said
to his disappointed host.
~
WHEN YOU FEEL
When you feel
the earth tremble,
the old monk says,
that is the mountain's
final message.
~
Wednesday, September 15, 2021
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (8)
I'VE WAITED SO LONG
I've waited so long
to say these things,
the old monk said,
that now they don't
make much sense.
~
I CAN STAY
I can stay here
until the wind
settles down,
the old monk said.
There is no hurry.
~
THEY DO NOT
They do not
go quiet,
the cicadas,
the old monk said.
That is their
nature -- to sleep
and then to wake
and keep working.
~
Tuesday, September 14, 2021
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (7)
BE CAREFUL
Be careful
what you promise
the day,
the old monk says,
the darkness
will hold you
to it.
~
WHEN WE GO
When we go up
the mountain, some
of us know what
the mountain means,
the old monk says,
and some of us just
go up the mountain.
~
HALF WHAT I SAY
Half what I say
is the word of God,
the old monk says,
and half is
just nonsense.
~
Sunday, September 12, 2021
TEN OLD MONK POEMS (32)
I'D DO IT
I'd do it again
and show you,
the old monk said,
but I'm getting
too old for that.
~
CATS ARE
Cats are aliens,
the old monk said,
and they're here
to save us.
~
WHERE THE HEAVINESS
Where the heaviness is
is where you're dying,
the old monk says.
~
YOU CAN PULL
You can pull it,
the old monk said,
but be careful not
to pull it off.
~
THE OLD MONK SAID:
It is what
all those angels
said it would be --
eternity.
~
YOU CAN'T DRAW
You can't draw the far line
at the closest distance,
the old monk said,
unless you're Escher.
~
IS IT FAIR
Is it fair,
the old monk asked,
that the wind carries
some of us?
~
SEE
See,
the old monk said,
you wait:
something
finds you.
~
HOW BIG
How big does
the world
need to be,
the old monk asked,
to get your
attention?
~
AT THE END
They all thought they could fly,
the old monk said,
and some of them did.
~
Wednesday, September 08, 2021
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (6)
WHAT DO I OFFER
What do I offer
when the candle sputters?
the old monk said.
More wine and
a blanket.
~
I WRITE
I write
so I can
remember
what I wrote,
the old monk
says.
~
ALL THESE YEARS
All these years
and it comes to this,
the old monk said.
What a disappointment.
~
Tuesday, September 07, 2021
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (5)
WHAT'S ON
What's on the mountain
stays on the mountain
even when the old monk
comes stumbling down.
~
AFTER WHILE
After while
she just stops
working, the mule
going up
the mountain,
the old monk said.
That's when we
take our rest.
~
EVEN IN THE PINES
Even in the pines
the moon will show itself
for me, my friend,
the old monk said.
and the moon, it did.
~
Monday, September 06, 2021
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (4)
SOMETIMES I MUST
Sometimes I must
put on the hood
of loneliness,
the old monk says,
so I can hear
the world singing.
~
HA!
Ha! the old monk said,
these days I write them
faster than I can
gather them. That's why
they're scattered on the floor.
~
NO MORE
No more tonight
than last night,
the old monk said,
counting the stars.
~
Sunday, September 05, 2021
TEN OLD MONK POEMS (31)
LOVE IS
Love is
kind of like
fire and
kind of
not,
the old monk says.
~
IF YOU CARRY
If you carry it
like a knife,
someone will
probably get hurt,
the old monk said.
~
I COULDN'T BEGIN
I couldn't begin
to tell you
what any of it
means,
the old monk said.
I understand
nothing.
~
I CAN'T THINK
I can't think about that
while I'm doing this,
the old monk said.
Sometimes that's what you want.
~
WAIT
Wait long enough
you'll learn patience,
the old monk says.
That's how it works.
~
WHEN SOMETHING
When something changes
something changes
more than you know,
the old monk said.
~
SECOND HELPINGS
Second helpings
should be served first,
the old monk says.
~
SOME NIGHTS
Some nights,
the old monk said,
it's as if I've
crash-landed.
~
WHAT IS THAT
What is that game
you only get to cross
the blue line once,
the old monk asked.
~
COME BACK
Come back,
but don't come back
too soon,
the old monk said
to the guest who had
overstayed his welcome.
~
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (3)
SOME OF US
Some of us are meant
to find the way,
the old monk said,
and others are meant
to carry our burden.
~
WHEN YOUR PARACHUTE
When your parachute
doesn't open,
the old monk says,
you have one chance
to learn to fly.
~
SINGING YOUR WAY
Singing your way
up the mountain,
the old monk says,
is the way you
warn the hermits
you're coming.
Singing down
the mountain is your
way to say good-bye.
~
Friday, September 03, 2021
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (2)
STAFF OR CANE
Staff or cane,
it doesn't matter,
the old monk says.
When I stand to go,
you will see
a three-legged creature
wobbling down
the mountain.
~
OFTEN OUR TALENTS
Often our talents blind us
to ordinary truth,
Wang Wei said.
Let off seeking wisdom,
the old monk said.
You will see what is.
~
WHY, YES
Why, yes,
the old monk said,
I can tell you
the future.
What will be
will be.
~
Thursday, September 02, 2021
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (1)
AS IF SOMEONE
As if someone
will be reading
my poems
1500 years
from now,
the old monk
said. As if.
Yes.
~
HAPPY ENOUGH
Happy enough
picking ferns,
succulent
and tasty,
the old monk
pauses to
watch the birds
happy enough
picking seeds.
~
THE BRUSHWOOD GATE
The brushwood gate
in front of
his brushwood house
is open.
Come in, come in,
the old monk says.
You can have
what I've got.
It isn't much.
~
