Poem for Kathy Daul

poem for K. D.

vast blue cloudless winter sky

empty and void this morning,

true nature revealed.

your azure blue eyes are sometimes like this.

some mornings the fog is very thick and cold.

other mornings the low grey clouds hang dense and dark;

but, the sky is always the same.

just like this true nature is always there,

sometimes manifest—sometimes obscure.

how silly to chase our problems and ideas,

are they not just clouds that have appeared by themselves

and will disappear with no intervention?

how many mornings—forgetting the sky?

how many times—ignoring true nature?

the blue mountains are looming in the distance.

somehow  laughing at our frailty

their message is clear.

hurry up!

but, be gentle along the way.

January 11, 1996

Beach Blvd.—Huntington Beach, CA

Kathy Daul

every shining thing

“inside this box
is a gold chain and pendant
which says Buddha in Chinese,
it is there to remind
you of your true-self
always and everywhere.”
a cool breeze is in the air,
birds begin to fly south.
flowers of spring beginning to recede.
a smile is on my face.
what a miracle—breathing each moment.
38 years have passed before today.
autumn is approaching,
bodies grow old and weary,
but our true self is constant and pure.
the sky is grey in the morning,
crickets chirping every evening.
Zen Master Lin Chi once said;
“gold is a very precious thing,
but if gold dust gets in your eyes
it clouds the vision.”

October 10, 1995
Happy Birthday Kathy

flight 851

kwan-se-um-bosal,

kwan-se-um-bosal,

kwan-se-um-bosal.

the 737 shakes and rattles

breaking ground at dawn.

morning mist and fog

obscures the sometimes

sharp edge at the horizon.

moments like these

bring me face to face

with my own mortality.

yesterday’s despair and loneliness

give way to joyful anticipation.

the grey earth and blue sky

meet at this fuzzy

pink and red juncture.

leaving dallas behind

the sun rises in the east,

as popping ears

constantly change the pitch

of the droning engines

and the hiss

of the air conditioned wind.

January 20, 1996

Over Central Texas