Friday, September 30, 2022
IN THE NEWS
Times are tough and we're
not going to help,
the old monk heard the rich
men tell their neighbors.
Again.
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (325)
IF YOU WORK IT
If you work it
on Sunday
you won't get it
done -- that's
a day of rest,
the old monk said.
~
YOU THINK YOU'VE
You think you've just about
run out, then
God almighty, there's
another one
in time for breakfast,
the old monk said.
~
YOU COULD
You could
if you wanted
but it's getting
you started
that worries me,
the old monk told
the lazy student.
~
Thursday, September 29, 2022
IN THE NEWS
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (324)
NOT ENOUGH
Not enough is
still a lot but
usually that
doesn't matter,
the old monk says.
~
WHEN YOU HOLD
When you hold on
you don't know enough
about letting go,
the old monk suggested.
~
THERE ARE A LOT
There are a lot
of places on
the mountain
I haven't found
yet, the old monk
said. This meant
he'd be awhile.
~
Wednesday, September 28, 2022
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (323)
THE OLD MONK TALKING
The old monk talking --
how much of this
is just the wind,
his students wondered.
~
IT IS IN
It is in
lifting my eyes
I lift my heart,
the old monk says.
~
IF YOU CAN'T
If you can't
put them away
as fast as I can
set them out,
we'll never get done,
the old monk said.
~
IN THE NEWS
Tuesday, September 27, 2022
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (322)
WHEN I'M ALL
When I'm all here
I'm not all there,
the old monk admitted.
~
IT WAS A BIG ONE
It was a big one,
the storm that blew
through him,
the old monk
on the mountain.
~
IF I TOLD
If I told you
everything I know,
I'd burn my supper
the old monk said.
~
IN THE NEWS
Monday, September 26, 2022
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (321)
YUP, THEY SAID
Yup, they said
about the old monk,
with him it's
a full stop
and a left turn
and then you
don't know where
he's going.
~
A SET OF ODD
A set of odd
and a set of even
is what you want,
the old monk said.
~
IF IT'S TRICKS
If it's tricks you want,
there are more talented monks,
the old monk said.
~
Sunday, September 25, 2022
TEN OLD MONK POEMS (86)
SOMETIMES YOU SPLIT IT
Sometimes you split it
and they don't know
how much goes with
which part, but it keeps
the professors in business,
the old monk told
the poet.
~
I TELL MYSELF
I tell myself
the world's story
to understand it,
the old monk said.
~
SOME DAYS WE GET FAT
Some days we get fat
and some days we go lean --
it's up and down
on the mountain,
the old monk said.
~
A DARK SKY
A dark sky
marked with stars.
In the old pine
the spirits
are talking,
the old monk
reported.
~
JUST THROW THEM
Just throw them
anywhere.
No one cares
til it's time to
pick them up,
the old monk said.
~
PROMISING
Promising
to make no
promises --
how does that
work,
the old monk
wondered.
~
WHEN YOU DON'T KNOW
When you don't know
the question,
anyone can see you
an answer,
the old monk said.
~
IF YOU MAKE ENOUGH
If you make enough
predictions,
some of them
will happen,
the old monk said.
~
THIRD ON A MATCH
Third on a match,
third past the rattlesnake --
you want to be
first or second,
the old monk said.
~
SOME OF THE THINGS
Some of the things you say
have your father's accent,
the master told the old monk.
~
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (320)
THE WIND IS
The wind is a warning,
the old monk said.
~
YOU KNOW WHEN
You know when sadness
lays down beside you
it's going to be a long night,
the old monk said.
You just know.
~
THE MASKED BANDIT
The masked bandit
doesn't spread Covid
when he takes your money,
the old monk said.
~
IN THE NEWS
Friday, September 23, 2022
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (319)
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (319)
TONIGHT THE STARS
Tonight the stars
are telling stories
about their childhood,
the old monk said.
O, such stories.
~
IT WAS IOWA
It was Iowa.
It was dark.
The stars knew
their business,
the old monk said
about his vacation.
~
YOU ENJOY
You enjoy
anything
when you have
nothing.
You enjoy
nothing
when you have
everything,
the old monk said.
That's just
the way we are.
~
Thursday, September 22, 2022
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (318)
ALL YOU HAVE
All you have left
when you're done
is nothing --
that's when you
start over,
the old monk said
about re-incarnation.
~
IF SHE HAS
If she has time to
put her dress on straight
before she has to go,
maybe she shouldn't,
the old monk said
with a wink.
~
WHAT I SAY
What I say
I say to say,
the old monk said.
I don't expect you
to believe it.
~
Wednesday, September 21, 2022
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (317)
THE STARS DON'T
The stars don't have to
understand the numbers,
the old monk said.
They're blessed that way.
~
ALL THINGS
All things line up
in one direction
or they don't,
the old monk says.
You get one life
or the other.
~
YOU COULD OFFER
You could offer
more but it's not
money he wants,
the old monk said
about the hermit.
~
Tuesday, September 20, 2022
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (316)
SOMETIMES THE ROAD
Sometimes the road
turns before
you want to --
you have to
be ready,
the old monk said.
~
WE COULD TAKE
We could take him
to the library
but it wouldn't
make him wiser,
they said about
the old monk.
~
EVERY NIGHT
Every night
an hour or two
of peace and quiet
might make you
half a saint,
the old monk said.
~
IN THE NEWS
Monday, September 19, 2022
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (315)
IT'S WISDOM
It's wisdom
til you weigh it,
the old monk said
about his lectures.
~
YOU CAN'T GET
You can't get to heaven
if you can't laugh,
the old monk said.
~
DON'T THINK
Don't think
that thinking
about it
is ever
enough,
the old monk said.
~
IN THE NEWS
Sunday, September 18, 2022
TEN OLD MONK POEMS (85)
IF THE TRICKS
If the tricks
don't fool them,
you'd better be
funny,
the old monk said.
~
FUNNY
Funny
is a business
and it's a
funny business,
the comedian
told the old monk.
~
THEY WANT US
They want us
to be funny
and then they'll
pay us,
the old monk
told the band.
~
SOMETIMES YOU'RE
Sometimes you're
74
before
you realize
you've always been
an old man,
the old monk said.
Sometimes you're
85.
~
I GET AROUND
I get around well enough
for a man with limited prospects,
the old monk admitted.
~
IN A POEM
In a poem
something has to
rhyme. It doesn't
always have to
be the words,
the old monk said.
~
TAKE OFF EVERYTHING
Take off everything --
pretty soon you'll see
what you are,
the old monk said.
~
WHAT DOES THE WORLD
What does the world
slap you with?
That's what you're
supposed to pursue,
the old monk said.
~
I HAVE WORKED SO HARD
I have worked so hard
to say so little --
I wonder why,
the old monk said.
~
SOMETIMES SADNESS
Sometimes sadness
is like straw
out the back
of the thresher,
even as it
shines in the sun,
the old monk said.
~
IN THE NEWS
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (314)
THOSE THREE
Those three,
the old monk said,
you can't break them
into pairs.
~
IS THIS WHAT
Is this what I want to do,
to teach you,
the old monk asked,
or shall I have
a bowl of ice cream?
~
I WANT
I want the one
that wants the other,
the old monk said.
~
Saturday, September 17, 2022
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (313)
WHAT WANT
What want wants
is wanting,
the old monk said.
~
IF YOU LIKE
If you like to
lose your patience,
don't go fishing,
the old monk said.
~
NAME IT
Name it
and label it
and break it,
then see
if anyone
wants it
at twice
the price,
the old monk
advised.
~
IN THE NEWS
Friday, September 16, 2022
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (312)
IF IT'S WHAT
If it's what you want,
that's what I've got,
the old monk promised.
~
NOTHING GOES
Nothing goes
when anything goes,
the old monk said.
~
IT'S TOMORROW
It's tomorrow
when the stars
say good-night,
the old monk said.
~
IN THE NEWS
In every iteration
they get to this point
and make a mess of it,
these humans,
the gods told the old monk.
Thursday, September 15, 2022
IN THE NEWS
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (311)
WHAT IS
What is pleasure
but the flush of what
flushes us,
the old monk said.
~
ABOUT ENOUGH
About enough
is always what
you want to
offer,
the old monk said,
or slightly more.
~
NOT TOO MANY
Not too many
is about enough
except for grapes
and glasses of wine,
the old monk said.
~
Wednesday, September 14, 2022
IN THE NEWS
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (310)
IF THAT'S
If that's
what I said,
that's what
I wanted
to say,
the old monk
said.
~
WHERE THE BISCUITS
Where the biscuits are
is where there's breakfast,
the old monk taught them.
~
WHO AM I
Who am I
to know
who I am,
the old monk
wondered.
~
Tuesday, September 13, 2022
IN THE NEWS
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (309)
THE STARS ARE
The stars are
as many as
there are but
who's counting,
the old monk said.
~
TOO MANY
Too many
is the reason
to go up
the mountain,
the old monk said,
and not
enough
the reason
to stay.
~
YOU DON'T KNOW
You don't know
you don't know
until you know,
the old monk says.
~
Monday, September 12, 2022
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (308)
SHIMMER
Shimmer of sun
on the silver
side of leaves
in the breeze --
storm coming,
the old monk said.
~
IF YOU GO
If you go slow
you can see how fast
everything else is,
the old monk said.
~
IF YOU CAN
If you can find my hut
I'll offer you supper,
if the mountain allows it,
the old monk promised.
~
Sunday, September 11, 2022
TEN OLD MONK POEMS (84)
JOY
Joy
is a small boy
seeing stars,
the old monk said.
~
IF YOU FALL DOWN
If you fall down
the great hole
you don't get famous.
If you don't fall down,
you do,
the old monk told them.
~
IF HE HAS
If he has a choice
the old monk chooses nothing.
~
BE OPEN
Be open
and wait,
the old monk said.
What comes
comes.
~
THE WORLD IS LIKE
The world is like
a child's drawing
if you see it
with a child's eyes,
the old monk said.
~
IF HE CAN'T FIND
If he can't find the beat
you might need a different drummer,
the old monk said.
~
I AM LIKE THE WIND
I am like the wind,
the old monk said.
There not much to me
but I make the trees shake.
~
NOT UNDERSTANDING
Not understanding
is the first part
of understanding,
the old monk said.
~
WHO IS THIS
Who is this
old monk
to say anything,
the old monk
asked himself.
~
I HAVE BEEN BLESSED
I have been blessed
and still I curse,
the old monk admitted.
~
IN THE NEWS
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (307)
YOU CAN'T
You can't stand
more of it
if you can't
stand,
the old drunk
told the monk.
~
IF THE STARS
If the stars were not so busy,
the old monk said,
I might have got some sleep.
~
YOU DO
You do
the thing
you do,
you can't
NOT
do it,
the old
monk said.
~
Saturday, September 10, 2022
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (306)
HUMILITY
Humility
is being able
to see the stars,
the old monk says.
~
WE ALL SEE
We all see everything --
it's just that it's different
for each of us.
You don't want to know
more than that,
the old monk said.
~
MOST NIGHTS
Most nights
midnight
is not
mid-night,
the old monk said.
~
Friday, September 09, 2022
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (305)
IT'S ALWAYS THE DEAL
It's always the deal
you didn't make
you think about,
the old monk says.
~
FOR THOSE WHO
For those who don't know,
anything seems possible,
the old monk says.
~
WHAT YOU THINK
What you think
it is is not
what it is,
the old monk says.
~
IN THE NEWS
Thursday, September 08, 2022
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (304)
TEACH YOURSELF
Teach yourself to learn
or learn to teach yourself,
either one,
the old monk said.
~
IF LOVE
If love is like
a weight on you,
you got
the wrong bottle,
the old monk said.
~
GOSSIP
Gossip
keeps you
honest,
the old
monk said.
~
Wednesday, September 07, 2022
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (303)
NOTICE THE V
Notice the V in love
and wonder what
it's pointing to,
the old monk said.
~
SOMETIMES THE OLD MONK
Sometimes the old monk
talks to his students,
sometimes to the congregation,
sometimes the whole naked public.
~
SOMETIMES YOU SIT
Sometimes you sit
waiting for transmissions
and the radio's dead,
the old monk told
the poet.
~
Tuesday, September 06, 2022
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (302)
SOMETIMES THE DARKNESS
Sometimes the darkness,
sometimes the light.
It doesn't help to move
unless you're headed south,
the old monk says.
~
IF YOU SAY
If you say
I'm losing my mind,
it means you think
I have one,
so pay attention,
the old monk said.
~
IT'S AN EXPERIMENT
It's an experiment,
the old monk said. I'm
trying to see the edge
of the universe.
~
IN THE NEWS
You know how,
for long TV series,
the writing in later seasons
isn't as good?
I think we're getting there
as a country,
the old monk said.
Monday, September 05, 2022
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (301)
THE UNIVERSE
The universe
doesn't have to
understand the rules,
the old monk told
the astronomer.
~
LIGHT IS BOTH
Light is both
particle and wave,
the old monk said.
That's something only
God could think.
~
WRITE IT UPSIDE
Write it upside down,
write it rightside up --
it doesn't matter
until somebody
goes to read it,
the old monk said.
~
Sunday, September 04, 2022
TEN OLD MONK POEMS (83)
IF YOU DON'T KNOW
If you don't know
who the angel is,
they are all angels,
the old monk said.
~
HOW MUCH WISDOM
How much wisdom
is enough,
the old monk asked.
The master said,
There is no
answer to that.
~
EMPTINESS IS A SONG
Emptiness is a song
you haven't learned to sing,
the old monk told his student.
~
SO MUCH
So much
depends on
so much,
the old monk said.
~
THE MOON COMES UP
The moon comes up,
I think of night-plowing
and my father,
the old monk said.
~
IF YOU'RE GOING TO
If you're going to fly,
don't fly feet first,
the old monk said.
~
THINGS FALL OFF
Things fall off --
we don't charge
extra for that,
the old monk told
the shoppers.
~
GOING UP THE MOUNTAIN
Going up the mountain
the first turn is a left turn,
the old monk told his students.
~
TIME IS
Time is gravity
divided by the speed of light --
did I really say that,
the old monk asked.
~
YOU DON'T KNOW
You don't know
what you know
until you've put
your mark on it,
the old monk said.
~
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (300)
IF THE STARS
If the stars understood themselves
they wouldn't be any brighter,
the old monk said.
~
WHAT'S BEHIND
What's behind you
doesn't matter so much
unless you're going
backwards,
the old monk said.
~
IF YOU THINK
If you think too much
about the music,
you forget to play,
the old monk
warned the band.
~
Saturday, September 03, 2022
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (299)
HE WANTS TO
He wants to sound serious
but is afraid it's all nonsense --
does that remind you
of anyone,
the old monk asked
his students.
~
ON THE MOUNTAIN
On the mountain
for a little while
you're not on earth,
the old monk said,
that holy moment.
~
THE STARS MOVE
The stars move
at terrible speed
and we move with them,
the old monk said.
~
Thursday, September 01, 2022
IN THE NEWS
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (298)
THEY ALWAYS LOVE
They always love
who goes up
the mountain
and they fear
who comes back down,
the old monk said.
~
BEING STRUCK
Being struck by lightning
is like talking to God
only it doesn't take
so long to recover,
the old monk said.
~
IT TAKES A MOUNTAIN
It takes a mountain
and a lifetime
to find the moment
the world accepts you,
the old monk said.
