an old writer and his words

  • REVEAL

    You will, or may see something today that may surprise you. It may reveal itself in a quiet moment, it may be nothing more than a fleeting thought or image, which you are at first uncertain. There won’t be Magi not even magic, though on reflection, it may seem somehow magical. It will happen openly,…

    Lou Faber

  • HUANGBO’S SINGLE STAFF

    All singularities are naked and it is only when we clothe them that they crumble away. You step into this river only once but it is this water which will wet your feet when you step in the next and the next. A reflection on Case 91 of the Shobogenzo (Dogen’s True Dharma Eye)

    Lou Faber

  • ROOMS

    I am reasonably certain, he said, that they are weaving a rug in the next room, a large one, I imagine, or at least a wall tapestry. It should be a medieval scene, dogs, a knight or gentleman, a child or two, and in the center a beautiful woman. Actually, if they are weaving it…

    Lou Faber

  • THIRD EYE

    He’s all of three but stare into his eyes and they say I’m so much more, if you dare go there. Of course I do. As we enter the path to the rock garden his small hand in mine I point to the sign, say do you know what grows in a rock garden? He…

    Lou Faber

  • REVERY

    Seen from a great distance the rowboat is a speck on a lake which appears far more like an oversized pond. You are so far off you cannot see if there is a person in the boat or it is merely floating about free of its mooring, imagining itself a water-lily basking in the midday…

    Lou Faber

  • PLEASE CONTINUE TO HOLD

      The thing I don’t get, he said, is why whenever I put in a call to heaven a male voice answers, and says he will transfer me. Usually the wait time is too long but occasionally a woman will answer and tell me the Queen of Queens, blessed is she, is busy but she…

    Lou Faber

  • THE AUTUMN OF SPRING

    Spring has arrived, however begrudgingly, and the young woman pushes the older woman’s wheelchair along the paths of the great park. Neither speaks, but each knows this could be the last time they do this. That shared knowledge paints each flower in a more vibrant hue, each fallen petal is quickly but individually mourned for,…

    Lou Faber

  • KYOSEI’S THIRTY BLOWS 正法眼蔵 四十二

    Wherever you stand still you can see the rainbow but walk to find its end this one or that one and it will be gone on your arrival. Sit in the fine mist and look at the earth – how many colors do you see? A reflection on Case 42 of the Shobogenzo (The True…

    Lou Faber

  • I WISH I MAY, I WISH I MIGHT

    Tonight, if the sky remains mostly cloudless I will go out into the yard and select a star. The selection is easy, dragging it into the garage unseen is a far more difficult task. It will have to be a rather small star, a neutron would do but with my bad back the weight might…

    Lou Faber

  • FUGUE

    The name on the door says Richard Strauss though the lack of music emanating from within the room suggests he may be napping or off doing something more important than entertaining those of us out in the hall of the nursing home. It’s no surprise, he’d be in a home now, more odd that he…

    Lou Faber