an old writer and his words

  • ARIZONA IS A STATE OF MIND

    Looking out the window, Iam reasonably certain this isnot Arizona and it is not justthe palm trees that suggest it. Well, in part it is the palm trees,although they have some there,but here it is the variety of palmsand the limited number of lizards. We have the occasional gecko,and the iguanas have begunto arrive, though…

    Lou Faber

  • A STONES TOSS

    If you toss a stoneinto a placid pondthe ripples will washaway from the landing spotas so many small waves,and unseen, the areaof the pond’s surfacewill grow imperceptibly. If you toss a stoneinto an vast ocean,the ripples will washaway from the landing spotsmall unnoticed wavesand unseen, the areaof the ocean’s surfacewill grow imperceptibly. Ask  yourself now,whether…

    Lou Faber

  • ASK OF THE SEA

    When you ask me of the sea,living, as I do, fifteen milesfrom the nearest ocean, itis not the sandy beachesof Hutchinson Island I recall,nor the crowded sandboxthat is Fort Lauderdale’s beach. If you ask me of the sea,it is perched on the horizon,far in the distance, lookingout of the kitchen window,or perhaps that of the…

    Lou Faber

  • DOGO’S GREATEST DEPTH 鐵笛倒吹 六十六

    If you walk into the roomand many are meditatinghow will you know whichis the teacher, which the students? If one sits on a higher platformwill you assume him teacherand ask the depth of his Zen.If he comes down to youand says he has no depth to offerdo not think him a fool.When you sit at…

    Lou Faber

  • GYOZAN SITS

    To a parched man sitting along the roadside a picture of the ocean will provide him nothing to quench his thirst and even if he jumps in the salt will lead to his imminent death. But give him the idea of a pond fed by a pure stream and he will be a content salmon…

    Lou Faber

  • MESSAGE RECEIVED

    There was nothing he liked more than wandering along the shore early in the morning, before the rakes and people arrived, just to see what the night had washed in on the now departed high tide. There would be shells of course, but rarely one he didn’t have already in profusion, and the occasional jellyfish…

    Lou Faber

  • ISLAND

    He feels like a rock cast into a river partially rising above the water now forced to flow around him. It pulls at him, seems to say you belong in the sea, let us carry you there, but he can no longer move and knows he will meet the ocean in bits pulled off by…

    Lou Faber

  • SEA-ING

    He believes he would like the ocean, imagines standing on the shore watching as the waves wash up to his feet, and as quickly retreat, smoothing the sand. He has never seen the ocean, only ponds and on large lake, but he imagines the ocean is just a giant lake with bigger waves. He would…

    Lou Faber

  • DOGO’S GREATEST DEPTH 鐵笛倒吹 六十六

    If you walk into the room and many are meditating, how will you know which is the teacher, which the students? If one sits on a higher platform will you assume him teacher and ask the depth of his Zen? If he comes down to you and says he has no depth to offer do…

    Lou Faber

  • KANSAI

    I droplets torn from cloud bed cling to edges of windows wanting to grasp, torn free by wind they are pulled clawing backward. II over Osaka pillars of light rise up through holes in the cloudbank, it is gray rain puddling on tarmac built into the bay. III container ships draw fading wake lines on a…

    Lou Faber