Wednesday, March 30, 2022
IN THE NEWS
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (170)
HE'S A MONK
He's a monk,
not a monkey,
his students
said about
the old monk,
but sometimes
you wonder.
~
IT IS WHAT IT WILL BE
It is what it will be,
an old smooth handle,
the old monk said
about the piece of wood.
~
THEY CAN'T SAY
They can't say
they cant's say more
without saying more,
the old monk said.
~
Tuesday, March 29, 2022
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (169)
AS MUCH AS
As much as
you want to
want, you want,
the old monk says.
~
THEY ARE EVERYWHERE
They are everywhere,
the world's sweetnesses,
and some of you
can taste them,
the old monk says.
~
YOU CAN KEEP
You can keep
making deals with me
or you can go
to the devil,
the old monk said.
Your choice.
~
Monday, March 28, 2022
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (169)
THE UNIVERSE
The universe can only do
what it was put here to do.
If it had started different,
this would be different,
the old monk said.
~
GREEN IS
Green is to hope
as blue is to patience
and grey is to sorrow,
the old monk said.
~
BLOW IN
Blow in the out-port,
you'll get a snootful,
the old monk said.
~
Sunday, March 27, 2022
TEN OLD MONK POEMS (60)
IF YOU CAN'T
If you can't
see the mountain,
you've gone too far,
the old monk says.
~
THE EDGE
The edge of
the universe is
always new,
the old monk said.
~
IF YOU GO BACK
If you go back
to talk about it,
you've already
lost the argument,
the old monk says.
~
EVEN IF
Even if
it occurs
only once,
there'll still be
wisdom in it,
the old monk says.
~
IF I GO UP
If I go up
the mountain
with rice and beans
what do I come
back down for,
the old monk asked.
~
THE SOUND YOU HEAR
The sound you hear,
that note is E-flat,
the old monk says.
That's the key
the universe
sings in.
~
PHYSICS IS
Physics is the way
the universe thinks,
the old monk says.
Pull up a chair, listen.
~
IF YOU KEEP
If you keep
wanting it
to hurt,
it will hurt,
the old monk says.
Stop wanting it
to hurt.
~
FLY THROUGH
Fly through
Sunday
fast enough,
you make it
halfway to
Wednesday,
the old monk says.
~
DO IT DIFFERENT
Do it different
than you always do,
you will lose it,
the old monk says.
~
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (169)
IF I KNEW
If I knew,
I'd have to
tell you
and we're just
not ready,
the old monk said.
~
WANT IS
Want is
nothing
you want,
the old
monk said.
~
THE DESERT
The desert
would be red
except for
its grey sand,
the old monk says.
~
IN THE NEWS
Saturday, March 26, 2022
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (168)
ENGLISH IS ALWAYS
English is always
speaking in foreign tongues,
the old monk told the poet.
~
GOD IS THERE
God is there,
underneath it all,
beneath the dark matter,
the old monk said.
~
LIFE IS NOT
Life is not a circle
but both ends of the string
and everything between,
the old monk said.
~
IN THE NEWS
Friday, March 25, 2022
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (167)
HOW FAR BACK
How far back can we remember,
the old monk asked.
We can remember coming out of the water.
~
THINK
Think
the things
that make you
think,
the old monk says.
~
LANGUAGE
Language
lays on top of itself
sometimes,
the old monk said,
and you just don't get it.
~
IN THE NEWS
Thursday, March 24, 2022
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (166)
YOU CAN'T APPRECIATE
You don't appreciate
knowing how to fly
until you learn
to land,
the pilot told
the old monk.
~
HOW WILL I KNOW
How will I know
your business
if I don't stick
my face in yours
is what the cat
will ask
in the morning,
the old monk said.
~
IF YOU DON'T KNOW
If you don't know
the language,
just hum along,
the old monk says.
~
Wednesday, March 23, 2022
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (165)
EVERYONE WANTS
Everyone wants to do it
but no one wants to pay for it,
like going to church,
the old monk said.
~
HOPE
Hope
comes if different flavors,
the old monk said.
~
ALL THE STARS
All the stars
and maybe more
is what we need
to save us,
the old monk said.
~
Tuesday, March 22, 2022
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (164)
THE SPACE
The space
the Big Bang
needed,
it made,
the old
monk said.
~
ABOUT THAT MUCH
About that much
is close enough,
the old monk said.
~
HALF IS
Half is what you'll get
unless there are
three of you,
the old monk said.
~
Monday, March 21, 2022
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (163)
YOU CAN DO IT
You can do it
as much as you think
you can do it,
and maybe more,
the old monk said.
~
LEAVE YOUR MARK
Leave your mark
where it needs to be
and you'll be done,
the old monk says.
~
WORDS HAVE
Words have secrets
they keep from us,
the old monk
told the poet.
~
Sunday, March 20, 2022
TEN OLD MONK POEMS (59)
GIVE WHAT YOU WANT
Give what you want,
the old monk said.
I mean it. To get
what you want,
give it.
~
THINK ABOUT
Think about
yourself
thinking about
thinking about
yourself,
the old monk said.
~
A MIRROR
A mirror
is not
what is
in it,
or is it,
the old
monk asked.
~
EVERYTHING
Everything
is only
this,
the old monk said.
Keep it close
until the angels
come.
~
THE OLD MONK'S
The old monk's
old master said:
You may not know
what to say --
the stars will tell you.
~
THE MOON IS
The moon is
not enough --
we need the stars
and what's
beyond them,
the old monk says.
~
IF I FIND
If I find
anything more,
the old monk said,
I'd have too much.
~
IT'S NOT GONE
It's not gone
the moment
you let it go
unless you
let it go
the moment
it's gone,
the old monk says.
~
SOMETIMES YOU ONLY
Sometimes you only have to
say a line and that's enough,
the old monk told the poet.
~
YOU WANT TO
You want to
be okay
being okay,
okay?
the old monk said.
~
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (162)
AT THE RATE
At the rate the universe
is flying apart, pretty soon
you won't see anything,
the old monk said.
Relatively speaking.
~
YOU NEVER KNOW
You never know
what kind of help
you get when you
try to go up
the mountain,
the old monk said.
~
IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT
If you think about it
more than once,
you're still not sure,
the old monk says.
~
Saturday, March 19, 2022
IN THE NEWS
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (161)
IT'S WORTH WAITING
It's worth
waiting if it's
worth
waiting for,
the old monk said.
~
HE REMEMBERS
He remembers
when today was
tomorrow,
the old monk said
about the hermit
on the mountain.
~
IT'S LIKE WHAT
It's like what
electricity does,
the old monk said
about wisdom.
~
Friday, March 18, 2022
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (160)
THE LATER YOU START
The later you start
the faster you have to sleep,
the old monk said,
quoting his sister.
~
NOT ALL NIGHT
Not all night
but several times
is a good deal
if you can get it,
the old monk said.
~
THE DESERT'S BUSINESS
The desert's business
is turning sun
into sand,
the old monk said.
~
Thursday, March 17, 2022
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (159)
THE SKY KNOWS
The sky knows
what the river wants,
the old monk says.
~
MORE THAN ONE
More than one
on the mountain
is two too many,
the old monk says.
~
THE DOORS I DON'T
The doors I don't
open, I don't
know how to,
the old monk said
about his choices.
~
Wednesday, March 16, 2022
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (158)
WHAT WE / DON'T
What we
don't know
we know,
we don't,
the old
monk says.
~
I'D SING
I'd sing it
in another key
if I could sing,
the old monk told
the choirmaster.
~
IT'S ALL
It's all everywhere,
this universal stuff,
the old monk said.
~
IN THE NEWS
Sunday, March 13, 2022
TEN OLD MONK POEMS (58)
LOSE IT
Lose it,
the old monk said.
You won't find it
til it's lost.
~
YOU CAN'T CALL
You can't call for
silence
without breaking
silence,
the old monk said.
~
HOW MUCH
How much do you have
when there's nothing you need,
the old monk asked.
~
THE GAME
The game
you play
plays you,
the old
monk says.
~
THE SAME WIND
The same wind
that takes you out
works against you
coming home,
the old monk says.
~
TO THE VERY
To the very
edge of it
where it is no
longer it --
go that far,
no farther,
the old monk says.
~
YOU CAN DO IT
You can do it
or not do it,
the old monk said.
Just stop talking
about it.
~
IF THERE IS
If there is blood,
the mountain trembles,
the old monk said.
~
WHEN IT'S DONE
When it's done,
it's done,
the old monk said.
The tough think
is knowing
when that is.
~
THE KNIFE
The knife
the quiet one
carries
is always
the sharpest,
the old monk says.
~
Thursday, March 10, 2022
IN THE NEWS
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (157)
THERE'S KNOWING
There's knowing the song
and knowing your instrument.
If you know your instrument,
you know the song,
the old monk said.
~
TOO MUCH AND
Too much and
not enough
if what you're
going to get,
depending on
whether you
want it or not,
the old monk says.
~
INFINITY
Infinity
goes all ways,
the old monk says.
~
Wednesday, March 09, 2022
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (156)
SOMETIMES IT'S THE STARS
Sometimes it's the stars talking
and sometimes just noise,
the old monk said.
~
YOU KEEP DOING IT
You keep doing it
you'll make it a habit,
then where will you be,
the old monk asked
the student. Up
on the mountain.
~
IF YOU SAY
If you say
it not what
you want, why
do you keep
doing it?
Because you
do want it,
the old monk said.
~
Tuesday, March 08, 2022
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (155)
WHAT'S MINE
What's mine is mine
and some of yours is too
will get you into trouble,
the old monk said.
~
YOU WEAR
You wear the face you get,
even if you get the wrong one,
the old monk said.
~
HALF A BIT
Half a bit
leftover
is about
what you want,
the old monk said.
~
Monday, March 07, 2022
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (154)
YOU CAN'T
You can't
hold your tongue
and keep speaking,
which is why
you should sit
when you try it,
the old monk said.
~
IF YOU KNOW
If you know the job, do it,
the old monk said.
If you do the job, know it.
~
STILLNESS
Stillness.
The old monk
couldn't bring himself
to say it.
~
Sunday, March 06, 2022
TEN OLD MONK POEMS (57)
THE HAWK ALWAYS
The hawk always wants
to spare enough mice,
the old monk says.
~
POUND, POUND
Pound, Pound
on the end always
ends it,
the old monk told
the
drummer.
~
THE STARS DON'T
The stars don't control
your destiny,
the old monk says.
They can't even
control their own.
~
SOMETIMES HE'S SO FAR
Sometimes he's so far from town
he can't see the lights,
they say about the old monk.
~
YOU'VE GIVEN UP
You've given up
before you give up,
the old monk says.
~
IT'S NOT AN ITCH
It's not an itch
if you can't scratch it,
the old monk says.
~
THERE THEY ARE
There they are,
the stars,
the old monk said,
listening.
~
HALF A MEASURE
Half a measure
is more exact,
the old monk says.
~
IF THE MULE
If the mule
ain't in the mood,
the old monk says,
you might as well wait.
~
ANY TWO THINGS
Any two things
are related,
the old monk says,
once you see both.
~
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (153)
SOMETIMES / YOU CAN
Sometimes
you can just
wrap it around
the end of
something else
and nobody
will notice,
the old monk said.
That's how
I do it.
~
IF YOU DON'T
If you don't
talk to the pines,
they won't talk to you,
the old monk said.
~
YOU WANT
You want everything
to be the way
you want it.
Let's see what
it looks like
when you don't,
the old monk said.
~
Saturday, March 05, 2022
IN THE NEWS
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (152)
YOU DO NOT
You do not
dream in the mountains --
the mountains dream in you,
the old monk said.
~
MAKE THIS MARK
Make this mark,
make that mark,
you make it
go away,
the old monk
told the lawyer.
~
WHAT YOU WANT
What you want to hold
already has its hold on you,
the old monk says.
~
Friday, March 04, 2022
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (151)
IF YOU HAVE TO
If you have to
decide to decide,
you're not ready,
the old monk said.
~
OH, THOSE
Oh, those,
the old monk said--
they lay there all day.
They're called cats.
~
THE MOUNTAIN
The mountain
is there. It's
always there,
even when
you're sleeping,
the old monk said.
~
Thursday, March 03, 2022
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (150)
WHERE NOTHING
Where nothing goes
when it's gone
is anyone's guess,
the old monk says.
~
IF YOU
If you
think you're
thinking
too much,
you are,
the old
monk says.
~
WHEN THE GOOD
When the good thing stops
you say Thank God for
a hell of a run,
the old monk said.
~
Wednesday, March 02, 2022
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (149)
DON'T THINK
Don't think,
just do,
that how we
train you,
the old monk
told his students.
~
YOU DON'T
You don't lie down to die,
you just lie down,
the old monk warned.
~
IF YOU DON'T
If you don't
believe it,
someone will,
the old monk
told them.
~
Tuesday, March 01, 2022
IN THE NEWS
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (148)
FRICTION
Friction is the reason
things work,
the old monk told
the railroad worker.
~
BLISS
Bliss can't be
bottled, it can't
be bought,
the old monk says.
~
SOMETIMES IT'S TUESDAY
Sometimes it's Tuesday
before my weekend is over,
the old monk admitted.
~
