Sunday, December 05, 2021
TEN OLD MONK POEMS (44)
THAT'S NOT
That's not the lunch bell --
it's time for silence,
the old monk told
the visitors.
~
YOU DON'T KNOW
You don't know
where he is
when the old
monk is on
the mountain,
and you don't
want to know.
~
HOW MANY CORNERS
How many corners
does a four-cornered
box have,
the old monk asked.
This is a trick
question.
~
IT'S LIKE WRITING
It's like writing with silver
ink when the good ones come,
the poems,
the old monk said.
~
IF I START
If I start to write
in short-hand, no one
will ever know it,
the old monk told
the poet.
~
IT DOESN'T MEAN
It doesn't mean what it means
when I say it,
the old monk complained.
~
THE SKY TAKES
The sky takes
only what
the earth allows,
the old monk said.
~
ALL THE SILENCE
All the silence
of the silence --
that much emptiness,
the old monk said.
~
IT'S THE LETTING GO
It's the letting go
not the getting loose
you want,
the old monk told
his students.
~
EVERY MOMENT
Every moment
is every moment --
it's not as if
they're separate,
the old monk said.
~
