an old writer and his words

  • ONLY ONE LEFT FOOT AFTER ALL

    We took private dance lessons,she already versed in the dance,a natural grace and flow, and Imoving with seemingly fused hips,unsteady, bordering on clumsy. As we went on, it began to cometo me, never graceful, but no longerembarassing to myself nor her,and the teacher said I could bea natural, a kind and gentle lie. At our…

    Lou Faber

  • FORGOTTEN SOULS

    From the heart of the infernoDante and Lucifer grow boredwaiting, waiting for the ferrywhile Charon stops for lunchyet again at a Greek dinerin the heart of Hell’s Kitchen.They take up a game of catchtossing Molotov cocktails,raining fire onto the brimstone,setting the Styx ablaze.Each knows this is not necessary,for necessity is a creatureof heaven and there…

    Lou Faber

  • BASO’S WHITE AND BLACK

    I know you havea single question for whichan answer will enlighten you.Neither Baso, Chizo nor Kaiare here so you are asking me. The answer is simple:cover your ears tightlyand listen while I speakwith closed mouth,watch my feet dancein joy as they do not move.If the answer is not apparent,ask Chizo, Baso and Kaito speak from…

    Lou Faber

  • ALIVE IN THE NIGHT

    I walked the cityin the heart of the night,street lights casting the shadowsof ghosts of those long goneto bed, unknowingthat the city has beengiven over to ravening windsthat find no shelter. I step into an alcoveand the fading lightof the flickering bulb overheadurges me to move onlest she bury mein the darkness of her grave.…

    Lou Faber

  • Tozan’s Sixty Blows 無門關 十語

    When you arriveonly questions, eacha finely honed blade. Will you parry and danceavoiding the wounding tipand perhaps taste the sword or risk all and counter-thrust, attack fromten directionsand willingly receivesixty blows from the stickstanding in one place. A reflection on Case 15 of the Mumonkan (Gateless Gate) Koans

    Lou Faber

  • CONVERSATION

    Arising into nightthe departing suntangoes away with its cloud,memories soon forgotten.Other dancers take the stage,now a romance, nowa war dance, feathers raisedin prayer to unseen gods.Night will soon bringits curtain across this stage,the avian cast’s final bows takenthe theatre will darken, awaitinganother performance,a new script tomorrow,but for this solitary momentof frozen grace, it is wewho…

    Lou Faber

  • TOSU’S HARMONIZING TEN BODIES 正法眼蔵 三十語

    Standing in the ordinarystare out acrossthe great gulf searchingfor that which is sacred.It seems to dancejust beyond the edge of vision.Close your eyes and liftyour right foot,place it down.How does it feelto stand amidall that is sacred. A reflection on Case 39 of the Shobogenzo (Dogen’s True Dharma Eye)

    Lou Faber

  • WINTER

    As I stare out the window and watchthe snow slowly build on the limbsof the now barren crab apple, paintingit with a whiteness that bears heavily,giving the smaller branches a betterview of the ground in which theirfruit of the summer lies buried. I am forced to wonder if the treecontinues to watch me, if its…

    Lou Faber

  • STARING

    He liked nothing betterthen to sit outsidehis small cottageand stare into the pondonce the blaze on the waterset by the sun was consumedas fire must always be by water.As night deepened, he staredinto the sky, seeing the moonslowly rise, chasing alongthe sun’s now deserted path.He knew the myriad of starsshared his interest, staringbut he abandoned…

    Lou Faber

  • SEIJO’S SOUL 無門關 三十語

    Open your mouthand let your soul fleeon the dance of your departing breath. Inhale slowly, leta different soulfind purchase in your lungs. Both souls are your soul,neither soul is yours,but is it the moonor an obscuring cloud? A reflection on case 35 of the Mumonkan (Gateless Gate Koans)

    Lou Faber