an old writer and his words

  • CRANING

    I wait patiently for the wingsto move, as though attachedto a butterfly slowly emergingfrom her too brief chrysalis home.I want to feel the air shiftever so gently as shelifts into a cloudless sky.I want to marvel atthe grace she showsswooping overhead,then alighting once again.But I am no God,no origami masterand so my cranes sitwith their…

    Lou Faber

  • KARMA

    The birds offered metheir blessing this morningbefore lifting gracefullyfrom our wetlandinto another cloudless sky.They did so reluctantly,the blessing I mean,knowing what my specieswas capable of, whatwe had already doneto their ancestral habitats.They blessed me regardlessfor they understoodthe laws of karmaand would not wantto be forced in the next lifeto return as human beings.

    Lou Faber

  • THREE HAIKU

    in truly livingtime should be of no matterthere is only now the great egret knowsthat the sky is a sanctumdenied to humans still dreaming of flightmy feet sink ever deeperin the mud of life

    Lou Faber

  • FLOATING, SOARING

    You see them circling in a sun drenched sky,graceful, soaring without expending energy.You know they are vultures, but that thoughtis momentarily lost as you imagine yourselfa wingman to any one of them, freeof the shackles that gravity imposes.One or two land nearby and you pausenow wondering what has died to drawtheir interest, these morticians of…

    Lou Faber

  • NOT HERE

    There were those January nights whenwinter wrapped us in its chill, but withdrewits frequent blanket of clouds, and Iwould go outside peering throughthe fog of my breath and lookinto the sky at the aurora borealis,watching the electrons danceon a black scrim dotted with myriad stars.Years later and miles away I missthe occasional night shows for…

    Lou Faber

  • WATCHING

    Under the ever watchful eyeof the Red-shouldered Hawkthe Great Blue Heron foragesfor sticks for its slowlygrowing nest which ithas carefully nestled inthe heart of the small wetland.The hawk, his own nestnow complete stands sentrywarning me, my camerato keep our distance for thisis his territory and onlythose of fellow wingare allowed to enter intoits privileged realm.Soon…

    Lou Faber

  • THREE TANKA

    As the sun riseseach morning the Great Egretslift into the skyas we stand fixed to the ground.We now can feel their pity. Little Blue Heronsstare into the clouded skyknowing that the sunwill soon reappear and stealaway with the morning chill In Todai-jisika deer await the bellthat signals the endof morning zazen and startlooking for tourist…

    Lou Faber

  • AFFIXED

    I can only begin to imaginehow utterly strange I must lookto the Great Blue Heron standingin the wetland behind our home.What must he make of this odd creaturewith thick legs that seemdisproportionately short comparedto their bodies, why their neckshave such limited mobility, whythey cannot look behind themselvesor scratch their chins with their toes.But the birds…

    Lou Faber

  • NOCHES

    Some look to the sky this nightto portend their future, certainfate is deeply encrypted there,and listen to the mellifluous chorusof a billion, billion stars offeringsongs as old as time itself.Others see the universe unfolding,all of its history displayed, and we leftto be cosmic archeologists alwaysin search of a Rosetta Stone, standingin awe of what cannot…

    Lou Faber

  • AROUNDING

    He had no idea why hehad chosen this place, hadno memory of how he had gotten here.The night sky poured forthits endless cascade of stars,bathed him in the waves of the cosmos.He reached up as if to touch heaven,knowing he was an insignificant beingon an inconsequential bit of rock and magma.that the gods had long…

    Lou Faber