• WE ARE SORRY, BUT

    I will take it,the aging poet saidto the ever more sparsecrowd at the weeklyopen mic,as a recognitionis the growthin the qualityof my writingthat I continuebeing rejectedbut now by amuch higherquality ofliterary journals.


  • HABITS

    Tonight’s moon will looksimilar to last nights, or sowe assume since the cloudsdenied us that view again. It will be fuller, more plumpless an empty cup, now onealmost full, spilling its lightinto the all too dark sky. If she is hidden again, wewill turn to our imagination,for the moon is a creatureof habit, having learned…


  • KYIV

    From the moment it began, we knew, it wasobvious that peace and freedom were under assault,Russia had thrown societal norms to the wind. Under gunmetal gray skies they attacked by air,killing women, children, destroying hospitals, homesraining hell on the innocents with nowhere to turn.All we could do was watch, pray and offer paltry aidin the…


  • THE SAINT OF UNCOUNTED NAMES

    A desert again,always a desertand she the saintof uncounted names,her crying eases, nosmile appears for thisMadonna of the coyotes,her orange-orbed eyesshuttered against theslowly retreating sun.Once her tears wateredthe desert sands, mixedwith the blood of a Christnow long forgotten, trans-substantiated into a spiritwe formed in our image,no longer we in his.The Blessed Motherwatches, holding hope,holding space,…


  • NO MOMENT

    You wanted a zen moment,more than one actually,but were not surewhere to look. You wandered aboutlooking forthe right pathsaidyou never found it. There isno zen moment,there isno right path there isthis paththis momentonly.


  • SHADORMA FOR THE LADY IN THE HARBOR

    She walked in,lit a small candlethen she leftand we watchedas the light grew still strongerlighting freedom’s path.


  • ISAN’S EXPLORING SPIRITUAL POWERS

    If you mustfollow the Way, youmay read the Dharmafor hours on endor you may brewa pot of teafor your teacher, orbring your studenta towel and basin.Which two stepsalong the waywill you take? A reflection on Case 61 of Dogen’s Shobogenzo Koans (True Dharma Eye)


  • EMPTY PLATES

    The old gods have takenup residence is small casitason the edge of SaguaroNational Park outside Tucson. It isn’t Olympus, but theproperty taxes had becomeunsustainable with so fewbothering to offer tributes. They have gotten overtheir jealousy of the newgods living in the valley,with their European villas, yachts and getaways,for the old gods know wellhow it will…


  • PERHAPS, OR NOT

    It is certain that they are coming,and you assume or hope it is for me,but what if they are coming for you? You think that they will not find youbut they know where you are,so where will you try to hide? You think that you will be safe,that they will ignore you, that youcan hide,…


  • SOPHIE

    She maintained an aura of what sheimagined was elegance, a carefullyconstructed persona carried outin the most careful details. Her furniture had slipcovers, lestsomeone spill and mar the fabric,a tea cart always at the readyalthough I never saw her serve tea. She spoke with carefully chosenwords, certainly not the vernacularof the city, perhaps of Londonwhere she…