The Gardener
Santa Clara, CA 95051
theroot_
CIRCUS PIPES©
SKIPPING STONES
GOODBYE MEDIA
rest in peace
CBS, NBC, et cetera
Random House, you were aptly named
Facebook, I face the other way
here in the bower of nowhere
universal operations are in motion
flowers boom along with weeds
rain brings leaves to block the drainage grate
an unseasonable sky is cheerful
shapers of minds
you are shapeless here
who do you answer to?
surely not to me
nor I to you
on a bicycle without pedals
a hand that claps by itself
has announced
an indigenous ruler
here passing through
where there is not so much as a yarrow stalk's difference
in the synchronicity of educated minds
a dried rattle of clicking reeds
carefully sorted by this
clap of thunder
screen door shuttered in a sudden gust of wind
a bagatelle
dust devils of the mind
far beyond footnotes and tomato sauce
shrimps curled in pink delicious death
cannot speak
of presidents whose portraits do not include
the evening meal
Twentieth Century Fox?
the Lion's roar?
goodbye . . .
Tabitha sleeps
I purr
oh, we are just getting started
liberation of minds
as near
as this page
rulers of our history
as the global tide rises inexorably
and ice caps melt
crowns and traditions fall into the sea
a disaster of unmitigated proportions
a Hot Age brings light in abundance
for all the enslaved to see
North Korea set free
life, liberty, et cetera, an unimaginable dream
burnt
I sing the light fantastic
illuminated meditation halls
private morning sittings
history of our planet forgotten
yet not repeated
out of hand, isn't it?
but of course
that's where we began
and if I may be so bold:
yee ha!
goodbye media
ALL THE WORLD
are shoppers on El Camino motivated by bargains
or by good quality stuff
Olsen's Cherry Stand might satisfy everyone
now and then Taiko drummers are an attraction
you can get a bicycle part or a Honda
isn't it fascinating
in Menlo Park books on meditation are sold
incense
for those who parry the daily grind
suffering will end
someday
there is a better place (right here)
but let's be clear
clarity is not for everyone
some are committed to suffering
for some the light shines brightly
and there are manifold hues
each with devoted students
venerable ancestors
born, nurtured and transmitted from times quite unlike
now
with shining glories variously promoted
fail our present situation:
disaster!
forget apocalyptic prophecies
earthquakes, asteroids, volcanoes
not to mention the nuclear variety
look out your window!
walk your neighborhood
talk to neighbors
everyone has noticed
the sky, the sea, melting ice caps, ecological destruction
the biggest story on planet earth
and it fails to make the evening news!
some who promise, and with good reason, an end to suffering
focus on the promulgation of their practice:
salvation
either in one stroke here and now
or in an afterlife
the world and its sufferings are
in the end
vehicles for the light
of whatever color
while the world continues its practice:
greed is good!
truly, the only home of our aspiration was never threatened
before
but now even my neighbors are talking
such a beautiful day
in February
oh, the east coast . . .
one of my customers asked
what can we do?
I didn't know
but isn't it time for a changing of the guard
to skirt the mausoleum of TV "news" . . .
now or later
if there is a later
our aspiration will bring enlightenment
one never knows how or when things will end
or if they ever do
these words for instance
or where they begin
here is just in the middle
or at just what point in the process it will change
Susan arrives back from Respite
a program for disabled children at the Los Gatos Baptist Church
Tabitha comes in to sit next to me
tomorrow Susan celebrates the New Year at Sunnyvale's Zen Center
to be followed by an opera, with her friend Mark
and she has bought some Jack Daniels (for her cold)
brings me a shot with a cube of ice
Tabitha eyes me as I sip
then comes to purr on me
carefully leaving just enough room for these scratchings
and what has all of this to do with
the disaster?
well, it's still here, isn't it?
together with an end to suffering for some
perhaps you
get enlightened, you can do it
and along with that, in this time
you might go talk with neighbors
maybe later is too late
but to begin with there was no guarantee
please don't be depressed
you'll get over it
in the meantime
since you are the universe
celebrate
do zazen
eliminate the cause of self inflicted wounds
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The Gardener
Santa Clara, CA 95051
theroot_