an old writer and his words

  • ARDEIDAE MORNING

    He stands still staring at the ever changing surface of the pond, which he knows holds infinite possibility that he does not wish to disturb, lest the moment be forever lost. Nothing else matters to him as he calmly, and ever so slowly, lifts his leg in tree pose, and reaches out with unfurled wings…

    Lou Faber

  • TIME

    There is never sufficient time no matter how I adjust the clocks, he said with a profound sadness. What, she said, would happen if you did not consult the clocks, would there be time enough then? But how would I know if there were time enough without clocks, he replied. The cat watched this scene,…

    Lou Faber

  • TRYPTICH (HAIKU

    shout Yuki Onna I have wandered from my course snow piles at my feet   gold Chrysanthemum blooms bright in the summer sun pure water of life   a pebble is plucked from the lake, ripples move in, singularity.

    Lou Faber

  • CASSIOPEIA

    You sit on your self-hewn throne and stare fixedly at the night sky as the clouds gather and dissipate beneath you. Do you even recall why you were cast out condemned to your cell so vast and yet infinitely confining? Does your body remember the touch of his hand the crude hunter who set you…

    Lou Faber

  • PRACTICE (TANKA)

    In the Buddha Hall autumn daylight filters through the half closed windows. In the garden, Kannon stoops to pick up a fallen leaf.

    Lou Faber

  • BIG ISLAND

    It is his hands you notice first – dark fingers bent and gnarled, several banded in silver, knuckles scratched by the cat curled at his feet, the tip of his index finger sacrificed to a distraction and the saw, untrimmed nails, rough, ragged a torn cuticle, liver spot rubbed raw. The fingers curl gently around the…

    Lou Faber

  • THREE VIEWS OF WINTER (HAIKU)

    cat curls by the fire dreaming of summer flowers snow falls in laughter now barren branches of the locust tree shiver in the midnight breeze a raging sun sets as cranes raise wings in farewell winter awakens

    Lou Faber

  • ECHU EXPELS A DISCIPLE 鐵笛倒吹 語十三

    If you come upon Echu napping do not disturb him, but retreat to the zendo or walk in the small garden where enlightenment may be found. If the search is successful leave quickly, tell no one, for it is very fragile and the tongue is sharper than the sword and infinitely more deadly.

    Lou Faber

  • TRANSITIONS

    Dusk is that hour when the mind and eyes mark the slow transition from light to dark. As day slides off, things that were obvious, things that once were simple, grow in complexity until the intricacy threatens to overwhelm you. When night fully settles, sanity returns grudgingly and the memory of dusk is but a…

    Lou Faber

  • A POET IS

    A poet is a child who on seeing a blank page must fill it with dreams hears the song of the nightingale in the din of passing traffic comforts the lonely mother recalling the pain of a thousand births sees in each passing cloud the tears of a generation feels the heat of the sun…

    Lou Faber