an old writer and his words

  • MS WORD THESAURUS

    birthbeginningopeningbreachalienationestrangementenmitymalicemalevolencehatredrepugnancehostilityconflictbattlecombatassaultonslaughtaggressionbrutalitysavagenessatrocitycrimeassaultstrikebeatvanquishcrushannihilatedestroymurderhomicidedeath First published in The Candid Review, Issue 3, 2024https://thecandidreview.org/ms-word-thesaurus/

    Lou Faber

  • NIGHT AT THE ALLUSIVE TAVERN

    He had been sitting there for hours, days,how many “last calls” had he heard?He watched Beckett and Eliot come and gobut he sat waiting, patiently, no Godot for him.He had long since lost his now empty pen,his pockets grown stuffed with damp cocktailnapkins, the story of his life bleeding slowlyinto the worn fabric of the…

    Lou Faber

  • HUMPTY DUMPTY IS HERE

    I wonder what you hear when Isay certain things, do you hearonly the words or do you hearthe hidden thought. For my sakeI do hope it is the former.When I say “It’s been a pleasure”do you hear “I’m so glad its over.”When I say “Let’s do it again soon”do you hear “after hell freezes over.”When…

    Lou Faber

  • TOKYO SNAPSHOTS

    In the small yardof the matchbox housethe lone Ginkgotwisted by timefeels the barrennessof winter’s tongueand mournsits solitude. The apartment building looms upover the tracks of the Narita Expressthe balconies are deserted, savefor the laundry which flapsin the morning breeze,slapping with the gustsinto the small satellite dishesbolted to the railings. The ancient trees are twistedand gnarled,…

    Lou Faber

  • SEPPO THE RICE COOK

    If you sitbefore your teacherand she says nothingwhat do you do?Do you speak, doyou ask her a questionor do you sitsilently until dismissedknowing silenceis the firstand last wordof this lesson. A reflection on case 55 of the Book of Equanimity (従容錄, Shōyōroku)

    Lou Faber

  • SEPPO’S “WHAT’S THIS?”

    If you standat the feet of a masterwill you ask himto express all of zenin a single word?If he is silent, thatis all you need to know,your question answered. A reflection on Case 50 of The Book of Equanimity (従容錄, Shōyōroku)

    Lou Faber

  • NEWBORN

    When you first pick her upshe is so much smallerthan you had imagined,fitting comfortably into the crookof an elbow, your handunder her knees.She raises a thin armand stares into andthen through youwith navy blue eyesthat you carry awayin your dreams.She is not fragile,that is the wrong wordfor her size beliesa strength she shareswith you, a…

    Lou Faber

  • A THOUSAND

    There is a far less obviousbut very important reasonto be a poet, a bit less so, but stilla good reason to write prose.Perhaps you will say that myreason is wholly and solelyaudience specific, and youwould be at least partially right,for if, like me, you are inthe process of losing your sight,or have already done so,…

    Lou Faber

  • RINZAI’S TRUE MAN

    If I ask youwho you are, howwill you answer?If you give me your name,that is not the answerfor your name is a wordand you are not a word.If you tell me whatyou have done, thatis not the answer,for those are actions.If you sit silentlyon the cushionthat is the answer. A reflection on Case 38 of…

    Lou Faber

  • JOSHU ROTATES THE CANON

    If you ask meto grasp the DharmaI will read each wordas I unroll the scroll,but that is but a small partof grasping it.The rolling up,the placing back,the bow and the returnto my waiting cushion,each is a reverent grasping. A reflection on Case 74 of the Shobogenzo (True Dharma Eye) Koans

    Lou Faber