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THE HOUSE ON PEABODY
It was brick, red I am told.on a quiet street not farfrom 16th Street and its traffic.It was small, but a good homefor a couple with a child or twoin the heart of the District. I have no recollection of it,save the tile, black and whitein the bathroom, the radiatoron which I hit my head,and…
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WHAT IF THEY
Today they gave a party. Today, so far, no one came. Today, so far and until some come, we will breath easier. Tomorrow they may give another party. We hope that no one comes. The same for Tuesday and Wednesday, although that was supposed to be our party, but we can no longer come, because…
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A BUFFALO PASSES 無門關 三十八
Staring out, watch the bullwalk slowly pastalong the old road.Marvel at his horns,the flare of his nostrilsin his massive head,his breath hangingin the early morning chill. Mark each leg, itsmuscles rippling, as it passes.You feel you know the beastbut only if you close your eyescan you grasp its tail. A reflection on Case 38 of…
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BEST LEFT UNSAID
You need not apologize, for wedo not expect it, and wouldnot accept it as freely given. It is not that you have notdone so much to warrant it,for that list is long and repletewith all manner of sins. It is simply that we are notin a mood to accept an apology,denied so long, for hollow…
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RETAINER
I had a meeting this morningwith a number of the birdsthat inhabit our wetland. The said they wanted to retainmy services, although howthey discovered I was a lawyeris wholly beyond me as Iretired several years ago. They asked me to drafta cease and desist letterto all Americans, demandingthat we stop tweeting, ormore to the point,…
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FRIENDS
We will always be friends, we said,probably half meaning it at the time.How many times have we said thator somthing akin to it, knowingthat the promise to call, to stayin close touch, was at besthalf meant and almost certainnot to come to any reality. I have a catalog of friends, whoI told I would never…
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PICTURE THIS
Words failed him again. They did so ever more often it seemed, but it was possible it was merely that he was trying to express ever more complex ideas ideas in terms others would comprehend. A picture might not be worth a thousand words, but if you had that many, odds are some would be…
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DIFFERENT TODAY
The air we breathe is different today,and we inhale more deeplywith the energy of our youth. The tears we cry today are notsolely tears of loss and sorrow,but also of promise and hope. The wine that we drink todaywill be the same as before, butnow sweeter on the tongue. The sleep that we sleep tonightwill…
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HUANG PO’S GOBBLERS OF DREGS
You have heard that whenthe student is ready the teacher appears,and you believe you are ready,but no teacher has appeared.I can tell you that you are ready,that you will never be ready,that I am not the teacher,that the teacher is here,and that the teacher will never appear.But the path you seek to findwith a teacher…
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IN THE JUNGLE
If you close your eyesyou can imagine that this gardenwas once a tropical jungleas imagined by some cleverFloridian striving to separatemore tourists from theirdwindling travellers checks. It has been carefully done over,plants native and ornamentalreplacing the vines and trees,the alligators, real and imaginarygone, now an exhibit of Lego animals,the orchids in bloom, andyou wonder why…
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an old writer and his words 