an old writer and his words

  • STRANGE BEAUTY

    There is a strange beautyin the slow loss of sight,for there is a progressivetransition, a discoveryof much that went unheard,unfelt, missing in the glareof the need to see, to categorizeand organize, memoriesneatly arranged in an arrayof curated visual files. But without sight what oncewas cast aside as noise isan intricate tapestry of soundand undistracted, you…

    Lou Faber

  • ACUITY

    Acuity is such a strange word,sharp on the tongue andin meaning, but also a markof what once was, what willnever be again, replaced perhapsby a visual vacuity, comfortableword, no sharp edges, vagueimages floating behind a gauzeseeping slowly into a scrim,knowing the stage will soonenough go dark, despitethe ever brighter lighting.But replaced perhaps byever greater auditory…

    Lou Faber

  • OCULUS

    There is little goodyou want to say aboutMacular Degeneration, lessabout geographical atrophy,nothing it seems you can dountil it crosses that lineand wetness sets in. But there is one hiddenadvantage and thatis the magical powerto make people headlessand cars disappearon the highway. All I need do is shutmy left eye and if I amten feet or…

    Lou Faber

  • AMD ODE

    You didn’t have to go, you knowI did enjoy having you around,and I am sorely missing you now. They said the odds of youleaving, of even planning a departurewere small, but what did they know. They didn’t know that Ihad traits that would makeyour departure more likely. They didn’t say that oncethe word was uttered,…

    Lou Faber

  • Nansen’s Reason Is Not the Way 無門關 三十四 

    If you see the Buddhayou have certainly gone blind,if you hear his wordsyou demonstrate your deafness. Nansen will grow old,hearing and vision will fadeand he will sit and shoutin a sun warmed rain. A reflection on Case 34 of the Mumonkan (Gateless Gate) Koans

    Lou Faber

  • SLIPPING

    It is slipping away. I should be in a panic, but I just cannot see what good that would do. So I’ll be monocular in a binocular world, and always have the excuse that I just didn’t see it, and you can’t argue with that, because  my hearing isn’t nearly what it used to be

    Lou Faber

  • IN HIDING

    It slipped away. He had no idea where it had gone, but he knew he had to find it. It could have been accidental, an errant passer opening the gateway and off it went. But he was so reliant on it that he knew he could not do much of anything without it. And he…

    Lou Faber

  • FOUR ZEN HAIKU

    myself is no selfno self is universalinfinite being emptiness surroundsall forms are illusorythis is samadhi compassion aboundsalways out of your sightuntil you live it dharmas teach nothingcontain infinite knowledgejust stop looking

    Lou Faber

  • PROGRESS?

    It is progressing, but thatshould not come as a surprise to you,for they told you it would happenand you accepted that as a fact. It is the speed at which it has progressed,much faster than you imagined,what was once clear, now vagueever more amorphous, half alreadyeffectively gone, and the other half? I imagine what would…

    Lou Faber

  • BLINDNESS

    The Great Egret standson the shore of the pondand stares at the tall grassesseeing what we cannot. We are impatient, walkaway quickly, anxiousto get on with our dayalthough we have no plans. We do not see him lungeplucking breakfastfrom the swaying reed,he sees us blind to nature.

    Lou Faber