Sunday, November 20, 2022
TEN OLD MONK POEMS (94)
YOU WAIT
You wait.
That's what you do,
whether the poems
come, or not,
the old monk said.
~
SOME WHO SING
Some who sing of sorrow
only know that song,
the old monk noticed.
~
THE WIND
The wind
doesn't always
tell you
what's coming --
it doesn't
always know,
the old monk said.
~
WHAT I KNOW
What I know is
one side of the story,
the old monk said.
What I don't know
is the other.
~
LEAVING THE PEACH
Leaving the peach
to ripen,
patience grows sweet,
the old monk said.
~
PAIN DOESN'T KNOW
Pain doesn't know
anything else,
the old monk said.
~
UNHAPPINESS
Unhappiness
is a lonely business,
especially on the mountain,
the old monk told
his students.
~
ASK
Ask
who wants to
and see
who doesn't
say no,
the old monk said.
~
IF THAT'S WHAT
If that's what I say
I'm going to do
and I do it,
why are they surprised,
the old monk asked.
~
IF I SAY IT
If I say it
and you don't
write it down,
I didn't say it,
the old monk said.
~
