an old writer and his words

  • EMERGENT

    When I least expect it, onemay unfurl wings and liftinto a clouded sky searchingfor the hidden sun, or it may wander off, a childmomentarily free of parentsoff to discover the real world, or it may retreat back intothe pen, unwilling to be seen,objecting to its misuse, or it may sit in front of the TVand…

    Lou Faber

  • ON THE MESA

    On the mesa you can step outsideand look up at the sky,clouds building mountainsthat threaten to eat the sun,swallow the moon whole. On the mesa you can step outsideand feel incredibly small,listen to the coyotes withthe ears of scared children,unable to run like the jackrabbit. On the mesa you can step outsideand look up at…

    Lou Faber

  • ZHAOZHOU’S “LOSING THE MIND IN CONFUSION”

    Be forewarnedthe greatest wisdomis written on wateron a cloud –the sun reads it clearlyso why are youso blind to it? A blind man will notbe mislead by signsa deaf man cannotfall victimto the siren’s song. A reflection on Case 11 of the Shobogenzo Koans (Dogen’s True Dharma Eye)

    Lou Faber

  • 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…

    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

  • FOR RAIN

    The clouds build slowly, turning the sky from blue to ever darkening shades of gray. He hopes it will rain, rain heavily, as the ground is parched, the wetland a bog, and the birds have moved on in search of water. He watches the build up, the clouds accreting, and he waits for the first…

    Lou Faber

  • WETLAND HAIKU

    Beside the still ponddragonflies hover lightlysenbazuru dawn The Great Egret staresthe still pond returns his staredawning sun laughing Clouds swallow the moonmoorhens chanting their vesperssleep overtakes us A dragonfly sitswaiting for us to take winggravity says no

    Lou Faber

  • CONVERSATION

    Arising into nightthe departing suntangoes away with its cloud,memories soon forgotten.Other dancers take the stage,now a romance, nowa war dance, feathers raisedin prayer to unseen gods.Night will soon bringits curtain across this stage,the avian cast’s final bows takenthe theatre will darken, awaitinganother performance,a new script tomorrow,but for this solitary momentof frozen grace, it is wewho…

    Lou Faber

  • DICTIONARY

    I set out this morningwith my large dictionaryto find the perfect wordto describe the sky, the sunjust peering over the roofof a distant house, the fewclouds aflame in a silent fire. I knew there was a wordfor what I saw in the dictionary,for there is a wordfor everything if you searchlong and hard enough, butafter…

    Lou Faber

  • DEAR ERASMUS, DIE

    Today we welcome the rain, hopethat the wheaty winter lawn willshow some other color under its care. The birds ignore the clouds,accept the rain, care little howour lawn looks, their next mealof always greater importance. I am losing the vision in one eye,know I may soon be kingof the country of the blind,and sadly curse…

    Lou Faber