Thursday, August 26, 2010

Poetry by Ikkyū

clouds endless clouds climbing beyond
ask nothing from words on a page

poems should come from bare ground
night falling on night falling on black landscape 

sometimes all I am is a dark emptiness 
that I can’t hide in the sleeves of my own robes 

nobody understands why we do what we do 
this cup of sake does 

a woman is enlightenment when you’re with her and the red thread 
of both your passions flares inside you and you see 

I was like an old leafless tree until we met green buds burst and blossom 
now that I have you I’ll never forget what I owe you 

for us no difference between reading eating singing 
making love not one thing or the other 
 
mirror facing a mirror 
nowhere else

only one koan matters
you 

you stand inside me naked infinite love 
the dawn bell rips my dreaming heart 

I think of your death I think of our touching 
my head quiet in your lap  

this hungry monk chanting by lamplight is Buddha 
and he still thinks of you

why is it all so beautiful this fake dream 
this craziness 
why? 

Poetry: Crow With No Mouth: Ikkyū 15th Century Zen Master Versions by Stephen Berg 
Photo: Vaiden & Will’s Wedding - Phoenix, AZ - November 25, 2006

No comments: