Thursday, March 30, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (443)
DUCK LIKE YOU DON'T
Duck like you don't
know it's coming,
the old monk told
the stuntman.
~
THE AIR WAS
The air was heavy
and then the rain
was heavier,
the old monk told them.
~
THEY ALWAYS BREAK
They always break
about where they want to,
however I try to land,
the old monk said
about his bones.
~
Tuesday, March 28, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (442)
SOMETIMES THE MOUNTAIN
Sometimes the mountain
and sometimes the old monk
on the mountain, and
sometimes the silence,
his students said.
~
THE MOUNTAIN WANTS
The mountain wants
everything you've got,
every last drop of blood,
every bit of flesh,
the old monk said.
~
SOMETIMES NO MATTER
Sometimes no matter
how you say it,
it comes out backwards,
the old monk said.
~
Monday, March 27, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (441)
WHEN WHAT YOU DO
When what you do
undoes what you did,
it's time for a nap,
the old monk said.
~
THE HERMIT TOLD
The hermit told the old monk
sometimes he bathes in the lake,
then the water tastes bad for weeks.
~
IF SOMEONE HAS
If someone has
what you want
you want them
to want
what you have,
the old monk said.
~
Sunday, March 26, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (440)
WISDOM
Wisdom
on the mountain
makes a few
moments of
difference,
the old monk said.
~
I'M NOT SO
I'm not so ambitious
as to make my cats nervous,
the old monk admitted.
~
THERE IS A LINE
There is a line you hear,
clear as a drummer marking the beat,
and you have to say it --
that's what makes you poets,
the old monk said.
~
Saturday, March 25, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (439)
RAIN FILLS
Rain fills the shadows
and the mountain goes quiet.
The old monk puts
out his candle.
Silence.
~
AS WITH EVERYTHING
As with everything
you push it
til it pushes back,
the old monk said.
~
SOMETIMES I UNDERSTAND
Sometimes I understand
what I'm saying
the same time you do,
the old monk told his students.
~
Friday, March 24, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (438)
IS THAT REALLY
Is that really
what I want --
to catch another
lightning strike,
the old monk
asked himself.
~
THE GRASS
The grass
tells the rock
rain and cold
are my friends,
the old monk said.
~
THE MOUNTAIN UNDERSTANDS
The mountain understands
the hermits we don't,
the old monk said.
~
Thursday, March 23, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (437)
SOMETIMES YOU JUST
Sometimes you just have to say
I might as well peel carrots
and listen to the rain,
the old monk said.
~
IF YOU CAN'T
If you can't do the sums in your head
you will need faster fingers,
the old monk said.
~
THIS IS
This is
mountain.
This is
sun and moon.
They are
brilliance.
What is
silence,
the old monk asked.
~
Tuesday, March 21, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (436)
HOW CAN YOU
How can you
put it together
when I can't,
the old monk asked
his biographer.
~
THERE ARE ONLY
There are only
so many corners
to stand in
before you learn
your lesson,
the old monk warned
his students.
~
OBSESSION IS
Obsession is
a balky mule
and you have to
harness it,
the old monk said.
~
Sunday, March 19, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (435)
MOSS IS
Moss is the state
between rock and grass,
the old monk said.
~
WHAT DO YOU GET
What do you get
when you split
the difference,
the old monk
wanted to ask.
~
IF YOU LEAVE
If you leave
all the clean-up
for the other guy,
you can bet
he'll leave you
a mess,
the old monk said.
~
Saturday, March 18, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (434)
DONE DOESN'T
Done doesn't know
that it's done when
it wants to go
another round,
the old monk said.
~
A WHITE BACKGROUND
A white background
works for most things,
but not for polar bears,
and no for winter storms,
the old monk said.
~
IF YOU WANT
If you want
to hide it
in plain sight,
put it where
nobody sees,
the old monk said.
~
Friday, March 17, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (432)
WISDOM IS LIKE
Wisdom is like
the universe --
full of dark energy
and dark matter,
the old monk said.
~
MOST EVERYTHING
Most everything is worth
next to nothing,
the old monk said
at the dollar store.
~
WHAT IT
What it doesn't seem to be
is so often what it is,
the old monk warned his students.
~
Wednesday, March 15, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (432)
WHEN YOU GO
When you go
to the mountain
it is not
the mountain
you're going to,
the old monk said.
~
UNDERSTANDING
Understanding everything
makes you wonder
what you've missed,
the old monk said.
~
YOU DO
You do
the deal
with the devil,
or you don't
do the deal --
it's all the same
to the stars,
the old monk said.
~
Monday, March 13, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (431)
NECESSITY IS
Necessity is the mother
of backroom deals,
the old monk said.
~
THE LAST ONE
The last one
in line
knows more than
he tells,
the old monk said.
~
ONE KNOWS
One knows
and does not
know -- that is
the mystery
of us
among the stars,
the old monk said.
~
Sunday, March 12, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (430)
HOW MUCH DO YOU
How much do you have to lose
before you find what you're looking for,
the old monk asked his master.
~
ARE YOU SPEAKING
Are you speaking
of a principle
or an instance,
the old monk asked.
Do you want it
to apply just now
or always?
~
IF YOU UNDERSTAND
If you understand
their numbers,
you can play
their music,
the old monk said
about the orchestra.
~
Saturday, March 11, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (429)
THEY ALL NEED
They all need haircuts
and a bath, the hermits
on the mountain,
the old monk said.
~
IF I SPOKE
If I spoke only of berries
and leaves and mushrooms,
you'd think I was some hermit
mumbling on the mountain,
the old monk said.
~
SOMETIMES YOU DON'T
Sometimes you don't
know when it will break
until it does,
the old monk says.
~
Friday, March 10, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (428)
ISN'T THAT
Isn't that nothingness
beyond the edge of
the universe just
more space for stars,
the old monk asked.
~
IF I KNEW
If I knew what
was obvious
I wouldn't
have to say it,
the old monk said.
~
THERE ARE NO
There are no
fat hermits
on the mountain,
the old monk said.
~
Thursday, March 09, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (427)
A LITTLE APPRECIATION
A little appreciation
is worth a lot
more than money,
the old monk said.
~
INTO WHAT
Into what
did the Big Bang
expand,
the old monk asked,
and what
does it keep
pushing into?
~
IT'S ALWAYS
It's always a test
to see what you can do,
every time you try to fly,
the old monk told his students.
~
Wednesday, March 08, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (426)
IF YOU CAN BELIEVE
If you can believe
God is a mountain
that pine tree can be
your angel,
the old monk said.
~
IF YOU WANT
If you want to
speak to the stars,
you have to be
ready to listen,
the old monk said.
~
AGAIN I RAISE
Again I raise my hand
and you don't call on me,
the old monk told the master.
~
Tuesday, March 07, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (425)
YOU DON'T FORGET
You don't forget
that you've talked to God
on the mountain,
the old monk said.
~
GO BIG
Go big.
The universe
doesn't think
small thoughts,
the old monk said.
~
THE WISDOM
The wisdom
of knowing
is not knowing,
the old monk said.
~
Monday, March 06, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (424)
YOU CAN ONLY
You can throw
only curves
in this universe,
the old monk said.
~
IF SHE UNDRESSES
If she undresses,
that is temptation,
and reason to take
yourself back up
the mountain,
the old monk said.
~
IF YOU ONLY
If you only do enough to get by
you won't scrub the paint off anything,
the old monk said.
~
Sunday, March 05, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (423)
THINK ABOUT
Think about words.
Pretty soon
you won't be able
to think about
anything else,
the old monk told
the poet.
~
INTERESTING
Interesting
how we learn
to recognize
what we
recognize and
everything else
looks like
gibberish,
the old monk said.
~
WHO WRITES
Who writes in the dark
means to write the truth,
the old monk said.
~
Saturday, March 04, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (422)
PAINT THE TOWN
Paint the town red
and you leave
a good trail,
the old monk said.
~
THE DIRECTION OF GOD
The direction of God
is north by northwest,
the old monk told
his students.
And that is where
the universe is headed.
~
WHAT SLIDES
What slides into
home plate
is not always
the winning run,
the old monk said.
~
Friday, March 03, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (421)
EVERYTHING THEY NEED
Everything they need to know
you should be able to tell them
with one or two syllable words,
the old monk told the teachers.
Anything more is showing off.
~
BE AWARE
Be aware of what the silence means
when you say something which confuses them,
the old monk told the teachers.
~
SAINTS SIN
Saints sin and sinners
are sometimes holy,
the old monk admitted.
~
Wednesday, March 01, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (420)
IS IT FINISHED
Is it finished
if it's not
carved in stone,
the old monk asked.
~
ENOUGH
Enough is enough
when you start
keeping track,
the old monk said.
~
WHERE THERE IS
Where there is moonlight
is a good place
to put the window,
the old monk told
the carpenter.
~
