Thursday, August 19, 2010

summer

petunias, their scent
in the summer darkness

summer

the smell of petunias
in the summer darkness

dusk in august

two glimmering insects make love
on a pale leaf

in silence, stillness
one delicate black leg
gently strokes a lover's wing

the leaf shivers in
a sudden cool wind

bringing the mysteries of autumn
to this late august dusk

the moon, bright yellow,
behind the moving clouds

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

faith

breathe

not turning away is eventual freedom
for all beings
where is the strong heart born?

i had a dream
that love came from emptiness
from the void inside, freed, to
permeate all life

when i woke, i wasn't so confident

wanting one answer, i sit and think
when i get up to do my calisthenics
love is born in the actions of my muscles

i suspect the strong heart is born
every moment, with every breath

now i must start breathing

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Poem by Stonehouse, a Chinese Hermit, c.1272

A monk in the wild sits quiet and relaxed
he survives all year on what karma brings
bamboo and yellow flowers occupy his thoughts
white clouds and streams simplify his life
he doesn't mistake a rock for a tiger on a hill
or the image of a bow for a snake in a bowl
in the woods he knows nothing of the world's affairs
at sunset he watches the crows return

rainy day

rain on the canopy
above tall, tall trees
i can hear and smell water
but i feel only a few drops on my skin

monarch butterflies in the wet fields
a old man on his balcony with bare feet
the highway echoing in the distance
white flowers by the road side

oh, jean, i'm delightfully
wonderfully, deeply, sad!
my heart aches
low down in my body
for all of us, dear ones

Sunday, August 1, 2010

cardinals

cardinals
everywhere, red cardinals
in little wooded patches
in the neighborhoods