an old writer and his words

  • YAOSHAN’S “THIS BUDDHA, THAT BUDDHA”

    When you approachthe altar in the zendoto which of the two Buddhasdo you offer a bow?If you say this oneyou are wrong, butif you say that oneyou are wrong.There is only Buddha andthere are infinite Buddhas. A reflection on case 86 of Shinji Shobogenzo 真字正法眼蔵 (True Dharma Eye)

    Lou Faber

  • GAZING

    She says that for a small fee shecan guide me through my prior lives,introduce me to former loves, let mewatch the battles in which I fought,shield me from scenes of battlein which I died or was wounded.She says I will see many I now knowin my present, recognize how wewere once connected so our presentconnections…

    Lou Faber

  • SEEKING

    I always wanted to date a Bodhisattvabut despite my efforts I never did find one.I did come across a goddess quite by accidentand it is possible she could becomea Bodhisattva but she is too interestedin worldly affairs to make the gradeand she is certain she is at least two miracles short of sainthood.If she did…

    Lou Faber

  • APP-LICATION DENIED

    I can still recall my grandmother saying,whenever she thought I should be outsiderather than sitting in my room with a book,that “idle hands are the devil’s workshop.”I didn’t have the heart to tell her that Jewsdid not believe in the devil and that,in any event my hands were engagedin holding the book and turning pages.I…

    Lou Faber

  • TY NEWYDD

    In the gently aging house,replete with writersthere are endless roomsin which the muse dartsdispensing her soul.I prefer to sit with the catcurled in an overstuffed chairher head risingand falling imperceptiblyour breaths harmonic.We commune in unspoken dialoga language of silencebespeaking volumesof our shared existence. First published in The River, Sandy River Review, March 2024https://sandyriverreview.com/2024/03/30/seeing-you-again-next-stop-riding-ty-newydd/

    Lou Faber

  • A READING

    He walks up to the podiumsmiling at the introduction he wrotedelivered by someone who likelyhad never read his work, and set his bookand notes down on the lectern.As he begins to read he cannot let onthat he is a magician poet for theywould demand a trick and allthat he is prepared to do this nightis…

    Lou Faber

  • AND THE RAINS CAME

    It may sound odd, but what I miss mostis the spring rain, so short lived, alongthe roads in Highland Park in Rochester.You may say “but you live in Floridawhere the seasons are measured bywet and dry” and we do get rain, sometimesseemingly in Biblical proportions.and the Blue-winged Teals have returnedto our wetland now almost half…

    Lou Faber

  • SHISHUANG’S A SINGLE HAIR PIERCES INNUMERABLE HOLES

    If you ask whenyou might find nirvanaa wise teacherwill tell you that youwill never find it.Do not be downcasthe may add, for youare seeking somethingthat can neverexist in the future.There is only nowso how can therebe a when? A reflection on Case 85 of Dogen’s Shobogenzo Koans (True Dharma Eye) 正法眼蔵

    Lou Faber

  • ON OCCASION

    There is a hidden dangerin being a poet that most people,other than fellow poets and some writers,have a problem grasping.Once you let it be knownthat you are a poet eventuallysomeone will ask you to writea poem for a special day or person.When this happens I gently tell themthat I cannot write occasional poetry.Inevitably they ask…

    Lou Faber

  • LAUGHTER

    Each night the gallinules begintheir laughter, passing it from oneto another until you are no longer certainjust how many of them there are, butyou want to know just what comedythey are watching and put it on your list.But they are interrupted by the shadowsand the cry of the night Heronsdeparting for another night of huntingannouncing…

    Lou Faber