an old writer and his words

  • CHAPERONE

    There are three ducks on the pond, two female, one male, and none says anything that is remotely profound. Half a world away, a man carefully parks a truck at the edge of a crowded Baghdad market and walks quickly away. Three ducks swim side by side by side around the pond, every now and…

    Lou Faber

  • THE BUDDHIST TEMPLE AT NARA

    On the steps of the Temple the unexpected morning snow which cast a threadbare blanket over the gates and lanterns recedes slowly like a supplicant whose prayers have been offered. The candle flames shiver in the strong February wind while the Buddha sits, implacable. In the park below a dragon kite takes the wind and…

    Lou Faber

  • STREETCORNER PROPHESY

    He stands on the corner, rocking back and forth. He has been here every day for as long as most can remember. He hasn’t bathed in some time, his clothes, once white are indeterminate shades of beige. Everything is worn thin. His beard has grown long, shaggy. His hair seems electric on his head. He…

    Lou Faber

  • CONVERSATION WITH THE GODS

    This could be one of those days when you think you might want to finally climb Olympus and have that discussion with the gods. They’ve been up there forever and it isn’t clear they serve any Purpose other than taking up space and betting on when Sisyphus will get the rock to the top of…

    Lou Faber

  • THREE MORE VIEWS OF THE SHOBOGENZO

    BASO’S HEART SUTRA When my teacher asks of my practice I shall be still for the eye speaks volumes and the mouth sees all that lies before it. HŌON’S AWAKENING A fool always asks how do I get to where will I find what will come. A wise man can swallow an ocean in a…

    Lou Faber

  • THREE VIEWS OF THE SHOBOGENZO

    SEIGAN’S WHISK If a master asks where I am from I shall tell him. If he lifts his stick and asks if they have this stick there I will grab the stick and cast it into the ocean so it may go where it chooses. HYAKUJO REMAINS SEATED The gift of dharma flies off in…

    Lou Faber

  • MIDSTREAM

    A young man sits on a large flat rock jutting out into a river. He slowly tells the river the story of his life, places he has been, people seen and known. Each drop of water flowing by hears a small bit of his story, none hear whole thoughts, for perhaps he has told none.…

    Lou Faber

  • BUDDHA TEACHES

    Buddha teaches us that to be a trainer of elephants, one must have five principal qualifications, to be of good health, to have confidence and diligence in large measure, to have deep sincerity of purpose and above all else, wisdom. Once must be nimble, to avoid the foot of the beast set at every turn…

    Lou Faber

  • MUSINGS

    The poet muses: I wonder if a cat purrs when no one is in the same room. I suppose we could put in a microphone and find out. Schrödinger comments: if there is no microphone the cat is purring and the cat is not purring, and what is the half- life of a poem.

    Lou Faber

  • STAIRCASE

    It stands at the end of a very long hallway white walls, naked like giant canvasses awaiting the overdue artist. There are no doorways off this corridor, just the one behind you through which you entered what now seems hours ago. You stand as though rooted to the polished marble floor, your legs leaden, to…

    Lou Faber