Spring Three Times
1-
The sky bleeds
where sky meets
the sun
The slow tide of
night that follows
after
2-
Early Spring rain
still feels like Winter
when puddles
freeze at night
3-
White trees on
a gray day;
nothing blooming yet
Natural Art Three Times
1-
Burchfield’s Six O’clock
Dinner time in well-lit
dining room. Outside, snow
drifts and a crescent moon;
so cold it hurts.
2-
The View from Church’s Porch
at Olana:
Manmade vista mirrors nature.
Two reflections. One river.
3-
Pissarro’s Rain Effect:
Mud rutted country roads,
tree lined and grass verged
in shimmering half-light
feels more real than it is
Zen Koan Poems Four Times
1-
Zen in the Art of Archery:
The hand and the bow
and the flight of the arrow
and the target. All are one;
together and apart
2-
Bach’s Art of the Fugue;
dissonate and harmony,
chaos and order
3-
Mosaic of beach glass
and sea shells; the art
of the wave
4-
Water bugs on tidal
pool surface; scattering
the sunshine
Zen Koan Poems Five Times
1-
Receding waves at
low tide; shore rocks
dragged after
2-
Dreaming Great Wave:
Hokusai in oil cloth
painting the rain
3-
Dreams without color,
shadows within shadows
beneath a canopy of stars
4-
Washed ashore lobster
traps embedded in
sand; beach art
5-
Windup clock without
chimes, stopped hands
always say two-thirty;
no key
Kawabata Eight Times
1-
Snow Country in early
Spring, white shadows
fade in full moonlight
2-
Thunder, then rain that
melts out-of-season
snow
3-
A hand print
in raked sand;
a silent exclamation
4-
After the bath, a dragon’s
tongue extends the breadth
of silk kimono
5-
Steaming tea in
porcelain up, leaves
inside tell us nothing
6-
Sleeping on straw mats.
Wind riffles rice paper.
Rain on a tin roof
7-
In the dream garden,
dwarf roses and stunted
pines; sand falling instead
of rain
8-
White out snow squall.
Where has the path
home gone?
