The Sorbets - Samples
"WALKING WITH WANG AN-SHIH"
"Come to the creek and free the skiff;
Sit here with your back to the mountain.
With the river birds and mountain flowers, Share my leisure."
--Zen Master Wang An-Shih (1021-1086 A.D.)
Come. Come walk with me into this green, meandering place.
Here, the deer whisper in cool darkness.
The elk are not afraid.
The dusty buffalo are obstinate, grumpy—will not move.
The birds are too many.
Leave your map in the car.
Lock your cell phone in the trunk.
Throw your keys into the lake—imagine a long trajectory through
the high branches; across pale, daylight moon; a strange metallic
bird sound.
This path goes somewhere. All paths go somewhere.
We have wine, bread, cheese.
Let’s follow this path a while. Let the aspens tap out Morse code,
their high branches—clicking, clicking a message
only chipmunks comprehend.
Listen, as the grasses make love to the wind. Or
is it the other way around?
Remember desire as coyotes snip at cobalt dusk.
Let this memory ache, as it should.
Breathe the DNA strand of coyotes’ howls,
and move on. Breathe. Remember what
could have beautifully been. Breathe the futility
of that memory. And, let’s see what comes.
single leaf dances
is lost on the forest floor.
Last day of August.