There waa a time when
news wasn’t news, carried
by mouth, one person
to another a game of telephone
before that concept existed.
Newspapers promised us
the news, but in the time
it took to write and print it,
it was nearly news,
or at worst slightly olds.
Now the world is always
available instantly, but we
know or should, that half
of the time we see only bits
woven into a narrative
that bears no relation
to what actually happened.
It is time they said, but they never said what it was time for, although they seem to know. It wasn’t like he was going anywhere, confined to this chair, a quadriplegic. He was the chair really as he had no way of moving it. He had no way of moving anything except by putting it in his mouth. So why, he wondered, did they tell him it was time. It was gratuitous at best and he had a watch strapped to his chair so he knew what time it was. But time meant nothing to him. When you are a prisoner as he was in his body time was merely your sentence and in his case it was likely life without parole
Of course there is something I ought
to say, moments like this require it,
it goes without saying, painfully.
I practiced lines for hours, rehearsed
in my dreams for weeks, knew
for years I’d be rendered mute.
My tongue swells, threatening
to escape my mouth or take refuge
deep within my esophagus.
Your silence is only compounding
my anxiety, how can I, a man
of words, be rendered silent
by the thought of speaking to you,
of telling you that I finally now
joyously have what I feared I wouldn’t ever.
A wife and lover deserves
better than this.
I know you have
a single question for which
an answer will enlighten you.
Neither Baso, Chizo nor Kai
are here so you are asking me.
The answer is simple:
cover your ears tightly
and listen while I speak
with closed mouth,
watch my feet dance
in joy as they do not move.
If the answer is not apparent,
ask Chizo, Baso and Kai
to speak from beyond the grave.
A reflection on case 6 of the Book of Equanimity Koans
The wise one delivers
most knowledge
without opening his mouth.
The sagacious student
does not hide the wisdom
he inherits but offers it
in utter silence.
What is it
you wished to say
for I am ready
not to listen.
A reflection on Dogen’s Shobogenzo Koans Case 34 (True Dharma Eye)
Eyes can look within
and discover a boundless universe
but the tongue alone
can speak only sounds
that go false
as they dance away unseen.
The silence of zazen
speaks the dharma,
the teisho is offered mutely.
The space between
eye and tongue
is but three inches
or an unbridgeable void.
A reflection on Case 15 of the Iron Flute Koans.
The greatest speech
is given only
when the mouth
falls shut.
To talk of peace
is to be
at war with peace,
to speak of war
is to be at war.
When listening disappears
peace reemerges,
when peace emerges
the listener appears.
A reflection on Case 12 of Dogen’s Shobogenzo (The True Dharma Eye)
Open your mouth
and let your soul flee
on the dance of your departing breath.
Inhale slowly, let
a different soul
find purchase in your lungs.
Both souls are your soul,
neither soul is yours,
but is it the moon
or an obscuring cloud?
A reflection on case 35 of the Mumonkan (Gateless Gate Koans)
When you speak the words
of the Buddha you are lost.
Light is everywhere in silence
but the tongue must hide
in the dark of the mouth.
Buddha’s words are flowers
unfolding in the dawn
by the side of the still pond,
the eyes hear the song
and respond in silent chorus.
When you speak the words
of the Buddha you are lost.
Light is everywhere in silence
but the tongue must hide
in the dark of the mouth.
Buddha’s words are flowers
unfolding in the dawn
by the side of the still pond,
the eyes hear the song
and respond in silent chorus.
an old writer and his words 