Spring River

Ice flows dot the river's edge.
The last exodus of Winter.
The bright Spring sun
brings little heat to the day.

I have written poetry before, but lately I have begun reading  more poetry.  Until recently, my only book of poetry was a little coffee table book of haiku by Basho and other poets,  but recently I picked up a collection of poems by Shinkichi Takahashi.  I don't know much about the author right now, but I am really enjoying the work.  The brevity and  Zen vibe is strong, even though there are few Haiku in the book.  I picked it up at a book store in London Ontario that I used to go to a lot when I was in university.  It's called "City Lights" book store.  It's a small store in the heart of the old city, with shelves to the roof, all built out of pine planks with varied weathering that suggests they were bought as needed from the local hardware store.  There are no bare shelves, and no empty walls.  Just being in the place is inspiring.  I had not been there in a long time, but going back to the very shelf where I bought my first Zen book (Three Pillars of Zen) (and yes, I remember it clearly) pulled my distant past into that exact moment.  I seek to carry it forward.  Not that it can be.


This poem is new.  I wrote it this week.  I went back to the source and photographed the river that it is about.

Art Practice

Again and again this moment.
Always expressing, what could be brought forth?
Ink upon paint.
A universe.


I wrote this poem after I finished reading "The Zen of Creativity" by John Daido Loori.  It immediately felt incomplete.  So I wrote the following response.


There only ever was just this.
Being just so, expression pours out.
The canvas is black.
Twitch, and create it all.

Lamp

In the warmth of the house all seems to be at peace.
Through the window the night reflects the calm of the cold and dark.
Only by the lamp-post can the wind and snow be seen.

Over and over tonight I looked out the window.  It seemed calm and peaceful.  Each time I turned to the light of the lamp-post to see the wind and snow.  Which of these is the true night?

Ro

Breathing in; the music of the universe
breathing out; the music of the universe
not breathing; the music of the universe.

Here

Neither ordinary nor special.

It does not reach outward, but all things are held in its arms.

In the midst of the 10,000 things, profound power.

Without doing a single thing, all things are complete.

Lunch time at work.  Nothing specific to say, but I felt like writing.  Feeling at ease in the midst of great activity.  Saving beings as they arise.

Center of mass

My chair is firm,
My coffee is cool enough to drink.
For the moment, there is nowhere to go.


In the midst of pending activity,
My spirit is at rest.


What is the shape of the boundless?
Soon the form of the day will shift and unfold.


Part of the story of my life is being on the go.  As I develop and mature, I really value the ability to just sit and be present, without getting wrapped up in what is about to come.  Actually, it makes me think of Star Wars:  The Phantom Menace.  The is a moment when Qui Gon Jin (Liam Neeson) is fighting Darth Maul and an energy door closes between them.  They can see each other, and know it will open soon, but for now must wait.  Darth Maul paces impatiently, scraping his lightsaber on the ground.  Qi Gon kneels and meditates.  I imagine that his moment of mediation was no different in focus, calm and clarity than those experienced in the peace of days gone by.  (I am also saddened that spell-check does not recognize lightsaber as a word).

Spring to life

The snow has melted, exposing an earth of green and brown.


Like roots stretching up to the heavens, the bare trees take nourishment from the blue sky.


Life, ever-present, manifests clearly.


Rooted and boundless, the universe is just This!

Looking out on a beautiful spring afternoon from a local coffee shop, I was swept up by the perfect of human movement.  Each person, going about their business, manifesting the Great Way as best they can.  As I widened my gaze, I saw that the sun, grass and trees were going about their business in the same way.    How wondrous this life.