Friday, June 30, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (510)
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (510)
DON'T LOOK
Don't look for it --
let it comes to you,
the old monk told
the poet.
~
SOME NIGHTS
Some nights on the mountain
the crickets have a lot
to tell the stars,
the old monk said.
Sometimes late the stars
talk back.
~
IT WILL TAKE
It will take a better
master than I am
to shape up the old monk,
the master admitted.
~
Thursday, June 29, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (509)
IF YOU HAVEN'T
If you haven't been
dropping breadcrumbs,
why all the birds,
they asked the old monk.
~
WRITING
Writing by hand
allows for pauses
that typing won't,
the old monk said.
~
IT'S NEVER
It's never right in front of you,
it's always a bit off to the side,
the old monk told the poet.
~
Wednesday, June 28, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (508)
I HAVE MY EAR
I have my ear
to the universe
and what I hear
is what I say,
the old monk said.
~
HOW FAR
How far did God
have to be from
the Big Bang
to survive,
the old monk asked
the astrophysicists.
~
IF YOU WORRY
If you worry God
to keep him from
getting bored,
please stop,
the old monk said.
~
Monday, June 26, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (507)
WORDS WON'T
Words won't
always do
what you
want them to,
the old monk
told the poet.
~
SOMETIMES YOU TOUCH
Sometimes you touch
the universe
and get nothing,
the old monk admitted.
~
WHEN THEY'RE
When they're
walking by
and looking
at you, you
can't just
ignore them,
the student told
the old monk.
~
Sunday, June 25, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (506)
WHAT IS
What is a hundred
when ten will do,
the old monk asked
the mathematicians.
~
THE LESS
The less nothing
you want the more
of it you get,
the old monk said.
~
WHEN JESUS
When Jesus
takes his own
name in vain,
he's very
angry,
the old monk said.
~
Thursday, June 22, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (505)
IT DOESN'T
It doesn't matter
what the order is --
we're all
going to die,
the old monk said.
~
POETS PLAY
Poets play bass --
why is that,
the old monk wondered.
~
ENOUGH
Enough
of nothing
isn't much,
the old monk said.
~
Wednesday, June 21, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (504)
WHAT YOU WANT
What you want
is what you want
until it's not,
the old monk said.
~
YOU NEED
You need a big
soccer field
on the moon,
the old monk
decided.
~
YOU DON'T
You don't know
what death does
until you die,
and even then
you won't know much,
the old monk said.
~
Friday, June 16, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (503)
THE WORLD
The world remembers
your bad days,
the old monk warned.
~
IF YOU GET HER
If you get her to sing
you can't always
get her to stop,
the old monk warned.
~
YOU CAN GET
You can get in trouble
making deals with God,
the old monk said.
~
Wednesday, June 14, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (502)
LISTEN TO
Listen to the crickets
as you die --
really listen,
the old monk said.
~
STONE KEEPS
Stone keeps
the promises
it makes,
the old monk said.
~
SCANNING
Scanning a line of poetry
is the worst way to know it,
the old monk said.
~
Tuesday, June 13, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (501)
IF YOU CAN
If you can count it,
it counts,
is that what you're saying,
the old monk asked
the CPA.
~
ALL THE STONES
All the stones in the desert
are there for a reason,
the old monk said.
~
YOU CAN GO
You can go anywhere
between the beats
but you have to be
back in time,
the old monk told
the guitar-player.
~
Monday, June 12, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (500)!!!
JESUS WOULD
Jesus would say
what I've said,
if he talked like me,
the old monk said.
~
HOPE IS
Hope is always
the last horse in the stable,
the old monk said.
~
THE LESS
The less I do
the less I do
these days,
the old monk admitted.
~
Sunday, June 11, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (499)
YOU CAN'T
You can't get within
50 miles of imagination
without hearing stories,
the old monk said.
~
I WOULD LIKE
I would like to
leave you my poems
as if they were
folk sayings by
Anonymous,
the old monk told
the poet.
~
THE LAST THING
The last thing to do
is pray,
the old monk said.
~
Saturday, June 10, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (498)
OF COURSE I DON'T
Of course I don't
speak for God.
Sometimes I don't
even speak for
God's messengers,
the old monk said.
~
THE REASON
The reason it wobbles
is that you don't know why,
the old monk said.
~
GOD WON'T
God won't ask of you
what you don't ask of him,
the old monk said.
~
Friday, June 09, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (497)
YOU NEVER
You never say
would you just shut up
to the old monk,
the poet told the master.
Never.
~
DON'T BELIEVE
Don't believe
what they tell you --
money means
nothing to God,
the old monk said.
~
YOU AREN'T
You aren't much
good if you can't
build a straight
fence,
the master told
the old monk.
~
Thursday, June 08, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (496)
IF THE LAST
If the last thing
you want is
a bullet hole,
don't go through
Chicago,
the old monk said.
~
I SAY
I say I'm German
but there might be
a little Polish,
the student told
the old monk.
~
WHEN IT'S O
When it's o, o, o, o, o,
o, o, o, o, fifty-five
is the average,
the old monk warned.
~
Wednesday, June 07, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (495)
IT'S LIKE SEX
It's like sex --
when it does
what it does,
you know it,
the old monk said.
~
YOU MAY
You may think
I'm helping you --
you're helping me,
the old monk told
his students.
~
LIGHTNING
Lightning
writes in the dark,
as I do,
the old monk said.
~
Tuesday, June 06, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (494)
BEING A POET
Being a poet
is a little bit like
playing pinball,
the old monk said.
~
WHEN YOU HAIR
When you hair starts on fire
you're getting close to God,
the old monk said.
~
IF THAT'S NOT
If that's not singing,
what are they doing,
the student asked
the old monk.
~
Monday, June 05, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (493)
ANOTHER BAD DEAL
Another bad deal
won't make you
a wheeler-dealer,
the old monk warned.
~
WHEN YOU DIE
When you die, if
you're not ready
for heaven, they
put you in the circus,
the old monk said.
~
IF YOU CAN
If you can say
Welcome to the Big Top,
a thousand times and
not get tired of it,
you're hired,
the owner of the circus
told the old monk.
~
Sunday, June 04, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (492)
IF GOD
If God is eternal
and the universe is only
thirteen billion
how many times do you
think he's done this,
the old monk asked.
~
NOTHING IS
Nothing is
what it is
for long,
despite inertia,
the old monk said.
~
ACTUALLY GOD
Actually God
doesn't think about things,
he does them,
the old monk said.
~
Saturday, June 03, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (491)
PURGATORY
Purgatory
is when you should
be in heaven
but you're not,
the old monk said.
~
THE OLD MONK
The old monk
is the least shy
of them all,
the poet said
about his friend.
~
THE UNIVERSE
The universe
is moving
but we don't
know where,
the scientists
told the old monk.
~
Friday, June 02, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (490)
SOMETIMES
Sometimes the mountain
answers the thunder,
the old monk said.
~
IF I WERE
If I were a carpenter
I'd store my manuscripts
in wooden crates,
the old monk said.
~
HE OFTEN
He often talks
to himself
instead to God,
the master said
about the old monk.
~
Thursday, June 01, 2023
THREE OLD MONK POEMS (489)
WHAT'S IN IT
What's in it
for the salesman
is the first thing
you want to ask,
the old monk said.
~
CROW
Crow --
if you have to eat it
you hope it tastes good
with ketchup,
the old monk said.
~
YOU DON'T NEED
You don't need
more of the same,
you need different
is sometimes
the answer,
the old monk said.
~
