an old writer and his words

  • ENSO

    In the interstitial momentbetween birth and deatha universe comes into existence,something that never before existedand existed always, newand well-known, unseenand visible for eternity. Measure it wellfor it is incapable of measurement,and ends without warningand precisely on schedule.In the momentary breaththat marks the transit,we proceed nowhereand cannot return to where we began. Reprised from March 27,…

    Lou Faber

  • IN HIS IMAGE

    He said the assignment isan easy one for this class,write a piece, poem or story,your choice, but focused on a single metaphor. Oh,and to make it interesting,that metaphor should bethe last pet you owned orcurrently own, and if you’venever been blessed with a pet,use an ocelot or a lynx. How hard could it be, I thought,I…

    Lou Faber

  • RUSHING IN

    Step right up, don’t hang back,come and watch the fool perform for you.You know me, bedecked in motley emotionsworn like so many colorful rags,a suit of too many shades and hues,all displayed for your entertainment.See if you can find ten shades of angeras I prance around in front of you.Count the five flavors of tearsthat…

    Lou Faber

  • THE TALK

    She sat us down this morning for a heart to heart conversation. We had mentioned the neighbors’ new dog, their second, this one little smaller than a pony. She smiled at us, but we could tell it was a false smile, something was hiding about to be set free. “That is the problem with dogs,”…

    Lou Faber

  • AFTER ALL

    After all that has happened,after all of the changestumbling one upon another,after breathing again new air,after ceding fear to hopewhen I sit down to write itall I have at the endis a small glass of snowin the middle of July.

    Lou Faber

  • GICHU PREACHES 鐵笛倒吹 語十

    If called before the Masterwill you walk from east to westto the Master’s Smile, or west to east, to a sudden frown.Will you approach the Masterbowing with words of gratitudeonly to receive a blow of the stickor seeking instruction in your failureto an equal blow of the stick. Ponder this carefully:what is the answer?I leave you…

    Lou Faber

  • WITH A TWIST

    First, Peter Piper could not have picked a peck of pickled peppers. You don’t pick pickled peppers, you purchase them. And if he meant he picked a peck of peppers to pickle, then he should have said so. And he should have specified what sort of peppers he picked to pickle. Anaheim would be good,…

    Lou Faber

  • A CAPPING VERSE

    Snow always seemed so rightcapping the summit of Fujiyama,not dulled by the windowsof the Shinkansen to Osaka. You barely noticed the rice fieldsfanning out from its basewanted to reach out and touch itfor that is what you do with icons. Mount Hood had the same effectbut the chill along the Willametteurged you to retreat quickly…

    Lou Faber

  • A HAUNTING

    He said he would ghost mebut I know you don’t tell someoneand in any event, even thoughI do not very much like himI do not wish him dead,and he wouldn’t makea very good ghost anyway,since he barges and not sneaks. He said he would unfriend me,but since we were never friendsto begin with, how can…

    Lou Faber

  • ON THE TENTH PLAGUE

    Mark your doorpost with the bloodof the lamb for this may be the nightwhen God’s emissary arrives for the killingof the first born. Will he be a night birdhalf raven, half vulture or an aged manconcealing his weapon in shabby robes. Mark your doorpost and check itoften for if your neighbor wipesthe blood away, you…

    Lou Faber