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MAN UP A TREE 無門關 語
One armed monkclings precariouslyto the sagging limbover the abyss. Kyogen smiles, “Old manyou are starvingand soonwill be too weakto grasp that branch.” He places an appleon the branchfor the old man. “Your sufferingis completed.” A reflection on Case 5 of the Mumonkan 無門関 (The Gateless Gate Koans)
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TWO HAIKU
A lone ginkgo leafclings to the now barren branchdefying winter. Great blue Herons stareat the slowly passing cloudsobscuring their home.
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WHERE’S MY FREE GIFT?
They were old, or seemed soto a twenty-three-year-old bank managerwho spent time guiding them throughthe door, through the new account paperwork,through financial decisions theywere ill prepared to make, knowingthey were there not only becausemy branch office was close to home,but for the free gifts they would getfor opening a new account.They were old, or seemed…
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LEAVING
They don’t do that here,the leaves do not demand to be seenonly in their chosen seasonsand their palette is self-limited.There is no budding in spring,no malus or prunus throwing offwild cascades of white and pinkpainting the ground around them.There is no riot of coloras summer retreats and winterplans its eventual arrival,blazing reds and oranges,yellow, ochers…
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WIDOWER
In the cold nightof another winterhe stares outacross the barren fieldswhich have long forgottenthe taste of the sun.He watches carefullyfor a signbut the naked branchdenies the breeze.He remembershow it once wasin the heatof the dying firethe sweetness of her lipslingering on his tongue.She is gone, has beenso long, her faceis hiddenby the gauzy veilof time.He…
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THE NATURAL KEY TO HEAVEN
The hawk sits on a branchlooking up at the sky, knowingthis is perfection, lifting upchasing a cloud, floating lazily. The butterfly flits from plantto plant, tasting the fruitsthat nature has given her,perfection in a single moment. The cat sleeps on a rockerthe breeze rustling her coat,until waking for dinnerwhich appears at her request. We spend…
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FIVE HAIKU
The dawn cedes slowlyto the impinging sunlightbirds greet the new day The great egret liftsher wings embracing the cloudthe winter sun smiles on the barren branchthe red-shouldered hawk awaitsher mate and the sun sandhill cranes wanderalong the shore of the lakelooking for nothing the moon is a cupwaiting for night to fill itvenus sits empty
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MAYOKU THUMPS HIS STAFF
If as you walkalong the wayyou come acrossa small bird’s nestfallen to the groundits eggs intact,you place itback on the branchwithout a thought. If as you walk onand come acrossanother small bird’s nestfallen to the groundits eggs intactyou place itback on the branchbecause it pleases you. One right thoughtand right action,one wrong thoughtand wrong action,how…
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HEAVEN KNOWS
His extended wingsmomentarily block the sunsetting his feather tips ablaze.His vermillion talons graspthe waiting branch threateningto break it from the treeunless is bends to his will.His curved beak archesagainst an orange skyholding tightly tothe retreating sun.I can only watcha majestic momentand believe that somewherethe must be a Godfor nature alone could notconceive of a creatureof…
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HAUNTING
The ghosts of my birth parentsblow into my dreams asso many white sheets tornfrom the clotheslineby gale winds, fly over me,at once angels and vulturescarrying off memoriescreated from the clayof surmise and wishful thinking. I invite their visits, frailbranches to which to clingin the storms of growing age,beginnings tenuous anchorsto hold against time, knowingthe battle…
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an old writer and his words 