an old writer and his words

  • FOUR HAIKU

    In this momentabsolutely nothingsamadhiBuddha, outside the zendoa hundred birds gatherchanting the Dharma the cat sitsat the foot of Buddhaenlightened a girl gigglesBuddha laughs aloudpigeons bow

    Lou Faber

  • ANGLE OF INCIDENCE

    Dusk reflects dawn much asdawn reflects dusk, and it isour fear of night and deep needfor direction that sets them apart. Imagine a photograph of the sunhovering just over the horizon,compass-less we do not knowwhat preceded, what will follow. We prefer day and dawn, forit is then we feel in control,our thoughts leashed, our fearslocked…

    Lou Faber

  • BENEATH THE WAVES

    She says she has always wantedto swim like a dolphin, and she laughswhen others tell her that she can,in the Florida Keys and in Hawaii. She tells them that anyone, at leastanyone with money can swimwith the dolphins, but she wantsto swim like a dolphin as well. She wants to see the sky appearthrough the…

    Lou Faber

  • RUSHING IN

    Step right up, don’t hang back,come and watch the fool perform for you.You know me, bedecked in motley emotionsworn like so many colorful rags,a suit of too many shades and hues,all displayed for your entertainment.See if you can find ten shades of angeras I prance around in front of you.Count the five flavors of tearsthat…

    Lou Faber

  • WHY NOT

    Today in odd places,at the most unexpected moments,a child will smile without reason,a young girl will laugh,the young boy will strokethe neck of a wandering cat,and in that placeat that momentthere will be a simple peace.Only the children will notice this,though it gives lie to thosewho deem peace impossible.A child knows that it isonly preconceptionsand…

    Lou Faber

  • A DEAFENING SILENCE

    Sitting in stillness, the silenceis at first shocking, deafeningin a way unimagined but there. Within the lack of sound liesa thousand sounds you hadnever heard in the din of life. You hear the young monk at Senso-jiapproach the great bell and pullback on the log shu-moku, straining. You hear the laugh of school agedchildren hand…

    Lou Faber

  • ANGELS

    He says he cannot believe in angelsbecause he has never seen one.I do not believe in his sort of angels, but notfor lack of visual confirmation, ratherthat I live in a world that nowis so deeply in need, that an angelmight be our last, best hope, butthe scope of angelic miracles isnot likely wide enough…

    Lou Faber

  • SENSELESS

    You place the shroudover my head,it is dark, but Ican still touch her cheek. You cut offmy fingers, leavingonly stumps, but Ican still taste her tears. You pull outmy tongue, there isonly bitterness, but Ican hear her morning laugh. You drown mein a sea of noisenothing breaks the din, but Ismell her sweetness. You fill…

    Lou Faber

  • YANG YIN THERE

    It’s the difference between anthracite and lignite he said with his sort of all-knowing smirk. Quite to the contrary, she snapped back, it’s the difference between pahoehoe and aa. He clearly wasn’t pleased, those examples are like night and day and you’re in the dark. Only you can’t begin to tell between makai and mauka,…

    Lou Faber

  • RETURNING

    Time has no role to play in any of this. Time isn’t pleased by the prospect, it prefers to be ever present, ever escaping, even as it is arriving. It is quirky that way. It is constant yet it loves to give the impression of being variable. Einstein noted this, and anyone returning from a…

    Lou Faber