Being in a summer state of mind, with all the fresh farm produce being harvested around me, I went to one of my favorite Zen poetry books for this month’s quotes, appropriately titled A Zen Harvest. Enjoy the rich bounty! On my way to you A thousand miles become one: Across the wide rice [...]
“The proper response to a work of art is joy, even hilarity.” When I read this on page thirteen of Ted Kooser’s The Poetry Home Repair Manual, and saw that there was a chapter called Don’t Worry About the Rules, I knew I could not only read this book, I could write a poem or [...]
A Wild Goose A wild goose Passing the length of the sky Casts a shadow Into the cold water The goose has no idea Of leaving a trace, The water no consciousness Of the shadow sinking through. Zen Phrase The spring flowers, the autumn moon; Summer breezes, winter snow. [...]
With spring on its way, the ground thawing, and perennial green matter ready to reveal itself again, a few of my favorite poetries rise to the surface of my mind. Crocuses by Toinette Lippe An enlightened being should develop a mind that alights on nothing whatsoever. The Diamond Sutra Moonlight penetrates To the [...]
On Sunday I will leave for the woods of Vermont for one whole month: To rest, to read, to restore. The approaching school year always brings to mind, change, new beginnings and exciting possibilities. It is engraved in my bones, my muscle memory and my heart. I look forward to it, but first the fallow [...]
I often ask my students, as Mary Oliver asks us in the poem below: “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” As I plan for a month in the country, I ask myself this same question. This is my prayer for today, for my life, and [...]
