Tuesday, January 31, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (395)
LOVE IS LIKE
Love is like light --
you can know where
or you can know when,
but you can't know both,
the old monk said.
~
THE JOKE'S
The joke's the thing,
like the poem --
you don't mean for it
to get personal,
the old monk said.
~
HOW MUCH
How much do you fail
before you've failed?
You fail entirely,
the old monk said.
~
Sunday, January 29, 2023
TEN OLD MONK POEMS (104)
WHY THE HELL
Why the hell should
anybody care, if
you don't,
the old monk
told the poet.
~
YOU TELL
You tell the truth
and they can't hear you,
the old monk noticed.
~
IF THE SKIN
If the skin is coming
off your fingers
you're praying too hard,
the old monk said.
~
SOMETIMES IT'S GOD
Sometimes it's God
and sometimes it's
the crickets that won't
shut up,
the old monk said.
~
YOU'RE NOT
You're not done
until you've been buried,
the old monk said.
~
GETTING i
Getting i to the right height
is half the writer's job,
the old monk told the poet.
~
SAY THE SAME
Say the same thing
often enough
you change it,
the old monk said.
~
IS IT GOD
Is it God attracting
the attractor attracting
the Great Attractor,
the old monk asked.
~
FIRST YOU TOUCH
First you touch the stars,
then you sleep,
the old monk said.
~
YOU CANNOT
You cannot care
because you have to,
the old monk said.
~
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (394)
IT'S FRICTION
It's friction
which helps us
go
and lets us
stop,
the old monk said.
Friction.
It's not a
bad thing.
~
THAT WHICH FLIES
That which flies,
let it fly.
The stones can't
hold the wind,
the old monk said.
~
THE EARTH
The earth
already knows
its end
among the stars,
the old monk said.
No surprise.
~
Saturday, January 28, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (393)
THAT THING
That thing you do
with your mouth,
you can turn it
into art,
the old monk
told the poet.
~
HOW MUCH
How much can you do
before you show
what you can't do,
the old monk asked
the student.
~
THAT / WHICH
That
which
is
is
which
that,
the old monk asked.
~
Friday, January 27, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (392)
HOW FAR
How far do you travel
before you get one?
Twelve miles per poem?
Fifteen? Fifty mpp,
the old monk asked the poet.
~
IF THE WORD
If the word is
drift,
you let it
drift.
If it's
not,
you make it
stay,
the old monk
told the poet.
~
LAY YOURSELF
Lay yourself down
in the deep grass
if you want a
really good sleep,
the old monk said.
~
Thursday, January 26, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (391)
IT TAKES ALL
It takes all night
for the stars to
convince themselves
of morning,
the old monk said.
~
IT WILL NEVER
It will never
be everything
you want it
to be. That's
why you start
with simple things,
the old monk said.
~
HOW BIG
How big
does a cat
have to be
to not be
a house cat?
As big as
a barn?
the old monk asked.
~
Tuesday, January 24, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (390)
IF YOU WANT
If you want to
know what's coming,
listen to the wind,
which cannot lie,
the old monk said.
~
THESE THINGS
These things
I speak of
mean nothing
to you
if you have
no river,
no mountain,
no wind,
no pines,
no moonlight,
the old monk said.
~
THAT CAT
That cat?
Don't pet it
if you need
your arm,
the old monk said.
~
Monday, January 23, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (389)
THE GRASS
The grass bends
as if it loves
knowing the wind,
the old monk said.
~
THE SILENCE
The silence I practice
is practice for
the great silence,
the old monk says.
~
HOW MANY TIMES
How many times
do two words go
bump-bump
before it means
something,
the old monk asked.
~
Sunday, January 22, 2023
TEN OLD MONK POEMS (103)
YOU WANT THEM
You want them to go sideways and they don't --
that's how we end up in situations like this,
the old monk admitted.
~
DOING WHAT
Doing what you've
done you don't have
to go all the way back
to the beginning,
the old monk told
his oldest novice.
~
IT IS TIME
It is time which
measures the size
of the universe,
the old monk told
the scientists.
~
IN THE DESERT
In the desert
you may have to drink
the camel's blood,
the old monk told
his students.
It's like drinking
the ocean.
~
YOU DON'T
You don't haul salt
across the Sahara
because you want to,
the old monk said.
~
NOT ALL
Not all that is known
is knowable
unless you've read
all the poetry,
the old monk said.
~
DON'T HIDE
Don't hide where the microphone is,
the old monk said.
~
NO ONE WANTS
No one wants the coat
with the button off,
the old monk said,
but everybody
wants to be warm.
~
MONEY IS
Money is no good
on the mountain,
that's why,
the old monk said.
That, and I'm
allergic to it.
~
DUTY IS
Duty is as much as you have to,
the old monk said.
~
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (388)
WHO KNOWS
Who knows when
the old monk is done?
Just because
he isn't talking
doesn't mean
he's finished.
~
IF I HAD
If I had a better memory,
where did I put it,
the old monk wondered.
~
AT SUNRISE
At sunrise
I practice
walking toward
the light,
the old monk said.
~
Thursday, January 19, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (387)
IF YOU LEAVE
If you leave
what is left
you keep
what is right,
the old monk
advised.
~
THE WISDOM
The wisdom
in wisdom
is knowing
what it means
to wait,
the old monk said.
~
THE THINGS
The things
waiting to be
fixed
don't wait
forever,
the old monk said.
~
Wednesday, January 18, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (386)
THESE THINGS
These things
you don't know
you know
how do you
access them,
they asked
the old monk.
The old monk said,
except for silence
I don't know
and I don't
want to know.
~
IF IT GOES
If it goes good
you're done before
you've begun,
the old monk said.
~
WHAT I WANT
What I want to
say is caught like
wind in the grasses,
the old monk
told the poet.
~
Tuesday, January 17, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (385)
EVERYTHING
Everything
from morning
to now is
all you have --
don't waste it,
the old monk said.
~
IF YOU WANT
If you want to know
what the dead think,
ask the stars,
the old monk said.
~
THE EVIDENCE
The evidence says
there aren't enough stars
to fill the darkness,
but they keep trying,
the old monk said.
~
Sunday, January 15, 2023
TEN OLD MONK POEMS (102)
NOTHING
Nothing
at the bottom
is left
at the top,
the old monk said.
~
YOU WILL NOT
You will not get rich
representing poets,
the old monk told
the novice literary agent.
~
YOU LIVE
You live on the mountain
long enough, your forget
you can touch the stars,
the old monk said.
~
YOU FALL
You fall into what you want,
the old monk said.
~
IF SHE HAS
If she has rosy cheeks
and she's smiling,
maybe she likes
scrubbing floors,
the old monk speculated.
~
WE SCRUB
We scrub on our
hands and knees so
we're already on our
hands and knees when
they come through,
the servants told
the old monk.
~
THIS UNIVERSE
This universe --
maybe it is just
God's fastball,
the old monk said.
~
SOMETIMES THE WORDS
Sometimes the words
want to go right
through the paper,
the old monk
told the poet.
~
THIS UNIVERSE
This universe isn't
all God has to do,
the old monk told
the scientists.
~
DOES GOD
Does God know
what he cannot know,
the old monk wondered.
~
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (384)
YES
Yes, some star
threw out that which
became this stone,
the old monk said.
~
WALK CAREFULLY
Walk carefully
where the earth groans,
the old monk said.
~
WHEN YOU LEARN
When you learn
to ride time,
the old monk told
his students,
death means nothing.
~
Saturday, January 14, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (383)
THERE AT THE FAR
There at the far
edge moving away,
the universe
touches sorrow,
the old monk said.
~
THE STARS HAVE
The stars have their
problems too --
burning out,
being eaten,
the black holes
at the center
of their galaxies.
It's not easy going
against the darkness,
the old monk said.
~
IN A CERTAIN
In a certain
kind of summer
at a certain
time of evening,
the crickets, oh
man, the crickets,
and then the stars,
the old monk said.
~
Wednesday, January 11, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (382)
WHEN THE DARKNESS
When the darkness
comes at you
push the knife away,
the old monk said.
~
IT'S AS IF
It's as if
the crickets
tell the shadows
what to do,
the old monk
marveled.
~
HOW WILL YOU
How will you look
when you can't do
your numbers,
the old monk berated
his students.
Even the crows
can count to ten.
~
Tuesday, January 10, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (381)
ARE THE STARS
Are the stars
big chemistry
and is this
a test,
the old monk asked.
~
THE CRICKETS TELL
The crickets tell you
by their silence
where the earth
is dying,
the old monk said.
~
WE PLAY
We play music --
don't make it into work,
the old monk told the band.
~
Monday, January 09, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (380)
IT IS THIS
It is this universe
which makes us,
the old monk said.
Think how different
we could be.
~
YEAH, YEAH
Yeah, yeah, string theory,
the old monk says
to the physicist.
Pluck your magic
twanger, Froggie.
~
MAYBE HE DOESN'T
Maybe he doesn't care
that you don't care,
his students said
about the old monk.
~
Sunday, January 08, 2023
TEN OLD MONK POEMS (101)
YOU ALWAYS
You always wanted
to write something big --
this is bigger
than all of us,
the old monk
told the poet.
~
IF YOU THINK
If you think God
has time to stop
and talk to you,
you're pretty arrogant,
the old monk said.
~
THE UNIVERSE
The universe is serious business
even when you're not thinking about it,
the old monk said.
~
YOU CAN SAY
You can say
you talk to God
but you can't say
he listens,
the old monk said.
~
IF YOU HAVE TO
If you have to
talk about it
that counts against you
in the final score,
the old monk
told his students.
~
IF THEY DON'T
If they don't know the answer,
the talk about the question,
the old monk noticed.
~
YOU HAVE TO
You have to do your duty
before you can become
an old monk,
the master said.
~
LETTING GO
Letting go
of hope
never helps,
the old monk said.
~
IT FOLDS
It folds and unfolds --
that's the way
the universe works,
the old monk told
the scientists.
~
ONE AND
One and
the other
can be
both one
and the
other,
like light,
the old monk said.
But this
can't be
proved.
~
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (379)
I DON'T BEND
I don't bend over backwards
to read upside down,
the old monk told his students.
~
IF I COULD THROW
If I could throw
a ninety-mile-an-hour fastball,
the old monk said,
I wouldn't be able to
throw my curve.
~
YOU HAVE TO
You have to work out
the deals with yourself
before you can work them
out with the devil,
the old monk said.
~
Saturday, January 07, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (378)
YOU DO IT
You do it fast
so you have time
to do it again
when it doesn't
turn out,
the old monk said.
~
UNDERSTANDING
Understanding
is like a drawer
I don't have
the key for,
the old monk said.
~
PATIENCE IS
Patience is like
sunburn against
a starched shirt,
the old monk said.
~
Thursday, January 05, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (377)
WHAT WE COVER
What we cover
covers what we fear,
the old monk said.
~
WHAT A BLESSING
What a blessing,
this stone
for my pillow,
the old monk said.
~
IN THAT
In that moment
where that which
shines shines,
the old monk said,
that's where I'll be.
~
Wednesday, January 04, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (376)
AMONG THE WATCHERS
Among the watchers
someone is always watching,
though the earth-bound
seldom notice,
the old monk said.
~
Sometimes you can't
tell his notes from
his doodles,
the poet said about
the old monk's
notebooks.
~
A poet lives the world
the way God is the universe,
the old monk said.
~
Tuesday, January 03, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (375)
EXPECTATIONS
Expectations
are always
less reliable
indicators
than bruises,
the old monk says.
~
WE ALL WEAR
We all wear masks,
the old monk said.
Don't be surprised when
I take off this face.
~
IT'S NOT THE MASK
It's not the mask you wear
that makes you a saint,
but what you wear
under the mask,
the old monk says.
~
Monday, January 02, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (374)
SLEEP SOFT
Sleep soft,
especially where
the ground
is not,
the old monk says.
~
CAN YOU
Can you do what
you can do,
the old monk asked
his students.
This is the test.
~
SHOULD I COUNT
Should I count
the crickets
to see if this
evening there's
room for me,
the old monk asked.
~
Sunday, January 01, 2023
TEN OLD MONK POEMS (100)
WHEN ONE
When one
is four
two is
five --
explain how
that works
in this
universe,
the old monk said.
~
ALL CATS
All cats know
who feeds them,
the old monk said.
~
WHAT HOOTS
What hoots
isn't always
an owl,
the old monk said.
~
IF THEY'RE
If they're laughing,
tell a longer story,
the old monk advised
the comedian.
~
WHAT YOU PRAY FOR
What you pray for --
you're asking God to
stop what he's doing
just for that,
the old monk said.
~
IF YOU SPEAK
If you speak
the way a drummer does,
you'll be heard,
the old monk said.
~
STEADY WITH
Steady with enough
variation to
keep it interesting,
the band told
the old monk on bass.
~
YOU DON'T
You don't choose the note,
the note chooses you,
the guitar player told
the old monk.
~
OF COURSE
Of course
they're not all
good ones --
you have to
give them
something to
choose from,
the old monk
told the poet.
~
IT'S STATISCALLY
It's statistically unlikely
that I'll get done before I'm dead,
the old monk said.
~
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (373)
ONE LIKES IT ALL
One likes it all in one pot
and the other wants to cook them separately --
they can't work the same kitchen,
the old monk said.
~
EVEN AS
Even as the biscuit
is baking
she wants to be
cleaning the oven,
the unfortunate soul,
the old monk said.
~
WHO STIRS
Who stirs the pot
remains calm --
which explains
the universe,
the old monk said.
~
