-
BY MOONLIGHT
We are waiting patiently, for thatis what you have demanded.We have seized your promises, held themdear, we have done your biddingwithout question, without objection, and stillin our moment of need you dessert us.You have turned your face awayfrom us, refused to cast your eyeson us, you hide when we most need youand all too often…
-
GENESIS
Every time I see a doveI look twice to seeif by chance it has an olive branch,actually any branch, claspedin its claws, for that would meanthe storm of the last years,the wars, the abject poverty,the amassing of wealthfor its own sake at the neverending expense of others,was coming to an end,that the peace we all…
-

VICTOR
In our timeof never-ending war,punctured by the briefestlulls we now call peace,someone, someonesmore likely, will talkabout whom will bethe victor, to whomshall go the spoils.Bierce, that perpetualcynic, reminded usthat peace was a periodof cheating betweentwo periods of fighting.But no one pausesto consider thatin any war there areno true victorsonly the victimsunwillingly offered upin sacrifice to…
-

KYIV
From the moment it began, we knew, it wasobvious that peace and freedom were under assault,Russia had thrown societal norms to the wind. Under gunmetal gray skies they attacked by air,killing women, children, destroying hospitals, homesraining hell on the innocents with nowhere to turn.All we could do was watch, pray and offer paltry aidin the…
-

GENSHA’S ONE BRIGHT PEARL
If you ask mewhat I can sayabout the wayI will tell youit is perfect peace.If tomorrow I ask youwhat you can sayabout the waywill you tell meit is perfect peace.We may bothbe fools, but youinhabit the darker cave. A reflection on Case 15 of the Shobogenzo Koans (Dogen’s True Dharma Eye)
-

HOFUKU’s BLOCKING OF THE EYES
Do not pity the blind manfor he can see much,and do not be sad for the deaffor they can hear you.Your eyes see nothingyour ears do notdiscern the quietest sound.Rest your mind and tastethe peace of blindnessand silence. A reflection on Case 113 of Dogen’s Shobogenzo (True Dharma Eye) Koans
-

MARS
Mars has risen in the western sky. Perhaps it is waiting for the moonto draw our attention,but the moon is periodicallyirascible, as tonight, and haschosen to abandon Marsto the stellar firmament. Mars has risen in the western sky. I wander into the dark in searchof the peace that onlynight affords, but the horizonis war and…
-

CANINE
The dog refuses to walkaround the house and checkthe driveway, and sothe shells will rain on the villageas they do each time she senses fear. She has a sight beyond thatI can fathom, curled underthe heat vent, as thoughthe cries of children carryin her dreams, her taildances against the grate. On most nights when she…

