Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Autumn's Arrival

Come autumn
Every last crow
Seems to know
At least one of
The four Noble Truths
Each caw being a call
Of attachment  
To the pungent scent
Of the past prime earth

And crickets too
In their threnody
Evidence plenty of will
To hold September's
Fading warmth
For all that it’s worth

But a mind settled
Well on the mat
Heeds neither
Chirp nor caw as it
Welcomes autumn's arrival
Serenely consigned  
To the harvest of bounties
That accompanies
 Summer’s demise





Friday, September 11, 2015

What Dogen Zenji Said

The whole moon and 
Entire sky are reflected 
In one dewdrop on the grass
Says Dogen Zenji  
But it can
Only be seen on a cloudy night
By a meditative eye says I

Only the strongest of poems

I make a pact with no one
When I write a new poem
Only the strongest among them
I imagine stands the slightest chance of
Imposing itself on a reader's imagination
Like a contract of adhesion  
A phrase might stick here or there
Notwithstanding protestations
To the contrary yet even still 
Such words remain forever at risk
Of being invalidated or overturned
In good course by a court
Of higher opinion
Including my own

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Meditation Poem - Ode to Bodhi

Much like work
Consciousness either
Expands or contracts
To fill the time necessary
For its completion

So behind the wheel
It reaches out to pave
The road ahead
Taking charge of all
That falls between
The peripheries
While here on the mat
It contracts to the size
Of a mustard seed

*  *  *  *

For 9 years
Bodhidharma
Sat on the mat
Gestating 
And then
Finally he
Gave birth
To Nothing 
But Nothing