• GENSHA COMES TO THE PROVINCE

    When you siton the cushiondo not let your mindcompare this zazento yesterday’s orimagine tomorrow’s.Those are the thoughtsof a fool for yesterdayand tomorrow are,in this moment,only illusions. A reflection on Case 81 of the Book of Equanimity, Shoyoroku 従容錄


  • HOW MANY

    The better question, the onefor which there can beno real answer, ishow many couples of our agewould be together today,would never have gotten together,if we had cell phonesand tablets when we were young.The use of that word alonestrongly hints at whatI imagine that answer to be.A telephone, landlinethey now call it, required presence,required you to…


  • MARKING TIME

    Life Is of limited duration but wenever know what that duration isuntil the moment it ends, and thenwe have no reason to care.But as we age and that periodnecessarily shrinks, some pauseand wonder what’s left, wonderwhat they might have done differently,where they would be today if they had.But they don’t stop to consider thatevery moment…


  • RETURN

    He arrived todayalthough none saw him coming.He had been here before,been quickly ignored,despite his pleas and prayers,they twisted his wordsto suit their venal desires,his message forever lost in translation.They were not ready,and in their hate fueled world,they might never be.


  • FACING

    The face in the mirrorwas surprisingly older today,and I can’t imagine that Iwill ever look that old,at least not for quite some time. I wanted to ask him howhe had aged so badly, but knewthat it would be bad mannersto comment on his appearance,so I smiled and he in returm. I suppose one day I…


  • TRAVELER

    Today I am goingnowhere at alland that isthe journeyI need to take. Later I will gonowhere,a shorter journey,ending up here. It will bea different herethan the oneI left, butboth hereare perfectin their respectivenows.


  • AWAITING ORDERS

    I am waiting patiently for her to tell me what I need to do next today. I’m sure she’ll be along shortly with a list. Hopefully, today it will be a short list. And I know that no matter how quickly I get to whatever task it is she assigns, she will, watching me like…


  • HELLO GOODBYE

    When I saw you this morningI knew instantly that I hadn’t seen youin more than twenty years,although it is quite possible wehave never met and todaywas the first time my eyesever gazed at your face . I suppose it is lucky thatyou did not recognize mealthough I don’t think I’ve changedall that much in twenty…


  • THE LETTER

    Today I should receive the letterthat I sent to myself twenty years ago,telling me what I should be, where Ishould be, who I should be, for the meof twenty years ago was, by his ownadmission, far smarter than I am, althoughI am here and he is nowhere to be found. If the letter does not…


  • WHAT IF THEY

    Today they gave a party. Today, so far, no one came. Today, so far and until some come, we will breath easier. Tomorrow they may give another party. We hope that no one comes. The same for Tuesday and Wednesday, although that was supposed to be our party, but we can no longer come, because…