Tuesday, August 3, 2010

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

Sunday, August 1, 2010

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