Poems from our readers and members
The Christmas of 2008
by Paul B.
Published Dec 16, 2008
It is a special time of year: We give thanks for everything we have,And we give thanks for everything we don't.We remember everything we need,And we forget everything we don't.We ask for nothing,We give everything.We look deeply and see man's true nature,And now we know why:For it is in this season... Read more
Passing
by Paul B.
Published Oct 10, 2008
I STAND IN ABSOLUTE SILENCE AND LOOK TO THE WESTTHE MIGHTY MOHAWK RUNS WITH A FORCE LIKE LIFE ITSELFI LOOK AS FAR AS I CAN SEE UNTIL THE RIVER DISAPPEARSAND WHILE I CANNOT SEE IT ANY MORE I KNOW IN MY HEART IT RUNS WITH THE SAME MIGHTY FORCEMY BARE... Read more
Sunset
by Fa Jian
Published Oct 24, 2007
Spending valuable time aloneFacing West, sitting comfortablyIn the evening on the porchAnd watching the sun go down Being in the lovely companySurrounded by furry friendsWho are watching with meAnd experiencing the sun go down Tasting of some good wineEnjoying nature's tranquilityBeing at peace with everythingAnd being one with the sun going down. Read more
I Only Journey this Path Once
by Fa Jian
Published Oct 23, 2007
Some people cross our life for a season,because it is time to share, grow and learn.They bring experience of peace and joy.They say or teach something new and enriching, even if not felt right awayIt is real, but only for a season. Long relations teach lifetime lessons:Wisdom and maturity must be... Read more
Progression of Sitting
by Fa Liang
Published Oct 23, 2007
The phone ringsand I sit The dog barksand I sit I remember deadlinesappointmentspast due noticesobligationsdeclined invitationsand I sit I feel angersadnessfearjoyapathyecstasyand still I sit The wind blowsthe flower bloomsthe rain fallsand I sit I know nothingI am nothingand yet,I am everything and I sit. Read more
Conquering Evil
by Fa Jian
Published Oct 10, 2007
Evil seeks its victim among the weak.A robber does not attack a fortress.A thief does not steal when watched.A liar does not slander the truth well known. Offer robbery a strong fortress that cannot be conquered;Give thievery a watching eye that cannot be escaped;Make the truth well known that cannot be... Read more
Painting Buddha
by Pawel Kowalik
Published Feb 06, 2006
Deep, crystal abyss brightened by a light is a million doors from the other side, but here are none. No questions asked. Liberated from myself, all of what is left of me floats across eternity, And Rocked by the Waves Of the Universal Rythm Drifts Away Into A New Existence. Read more
Summer Rain
by Fa Che
Published Jul 13, 2005
It would seem that once the leavesfall from the tree, lay upon the ground,and become covered by rain,that this would be enough. One leaf in particular turning orangeand brown, with small holes in it,drifted down onto the placeof meditation in the woods. No longer does the practicefill the wooded hillsideand no longer... Read more
Or not . . .
by G. Lucas
Published Jun 13, 2005
I once was a dreamer, lost in the waves of the ocean which battered me, and threw me around, here, there, everywhere. Somewhere in this dream, by an act of grace, or not, I began to wake up. And then I realized something utterly profound, or not. There was no dreamer... Read more
Night on the Great River
by Fa Xin Shakya
Published Jun 07, 2004
After a Zen poem by Meng Hao-Ren photo by Yao Feng of Corinth When you were buying ripe cherimoyas from a man on a donkey, in Nerja, it was still the middle of the night here. I would awaken, unable to breathe - not for lack of air,... Read more
Haiku by Jerry Earley
by Jerry Earley
Published Jun 23, 2003
Hummingbirds hoveras bumblebees give teachingto happy Ch'an monks - Jerry Earley, 2003 Read more
Haiku by Zheng Hui
by Zheng Hui
Published Jun 16, 2003
Chipmunk Road Eleven chipmunksGreeted me as I walked byIn my hiking shoes! Time and tide will waitWhen I am walking softlyOn a quiet road. - Zheng Hui, 2003 Read more
on a New York line
by Yao Feng of Tasmania
Published Sep 25, 2002
A haiku written about an Australian firefighter to his twin brother in one of the World Trade Center towers. on a New York linesaying last goodbyesto a recorded message Read more
Poems by Yin Ming Shakya
by Yin Ming Shakya
Published Jul 11, 2002
Sesshin Snapshots Early morning hush, candles flicker Lights glint from Buddha figures and Pictures of ancestors Incense smoke curls In currents and eddies Subtly coloring the air As we prepare to meet ourselves In the silence of shared breath At dawn The nightingale sings A chorus of flowers... Read more
Rain's grace
by Petko (of Bulgaria)
Published Apr 22, 2002
The rain falls gracefully.Countless drops, separated,but together.I am on my way! The bubbles emergeand disappear on the surfaceof the puddles. Read more
From Duality to Unity
by Yao Feng (of the Tropics)
Published Apr 08, 2002
In the stillness and silence of what I call my place,I thought I was alone. So, I sang, and I danced, and I talked...I thought I was alone. Then I laughed, and I cried, and I prayed, and I implored...I thought I was alone. Then, I realized,... Read more
Opposite End
by Fa Hu
Published Sep 18, 2001
As a little girlI'd go to the parkwearing hand-me-downs and hope.I'd run to the see sawsbut there was no one to lift no one to share it withno friend for the opposite end. I'd stroll to the swingssway back and forthonly daring to wishfor just one friendonly onejust someone for... Read more
A Poem
by Yao Feng of Tasmania
Published Jun 13, 2001
The view from my house in the Mount Wellington Range, Hobart, Tasmania The walls of cool mist,dance with the morning sun.Far off the birds sing and call,riding the early morning breeze.Soon the mountains are crisp and clearin the newness of dawn.All thoughts of this world, vanish in nature's breast. All is one with... Read more
Haiku by Chuan Kong Shakya
by Chuan Kong Shakya
Published Jun 13, 2000
Even emptinessEmpties itself inside out;Our cups overflow! Withering flowersDie and live, live and die, ah;Seamless unfolding..... Looking deeper stillWithin; the ancient mirror,Gone, suddenly gone. Now this new bright faceShines in the emptiness;Thus! All is so clear. Reverence for lifeAnd the Bodhisattva vow -Oh these mosquitoes. No longer needed;An old abandoned raftSimply drifts away. Dripping ambrosia,Iridescent humming... Read more
Vision of Dusk
by Fa Xin
Published Apr 10, 2000
One morning born of anger, autumn frost is melted by heated hearts.My heart burns for indifferent days,when the sun set with no worries.A time where the starry midnight meetingknew not of dreams this gloomy or dark. Cut thru this greyscale vision of duskAnd bloom learning with eyes of change.This pessimist tongue that... Read more
More Poems by Fa Ming
by Fa Ming Shakya
Published Jun 16, 1999
Don't strive after anything. Don't seek to attain. The True Mind is there already. By letting go, relinquish the need to make Distinctions, Discriminations,Separations. When separations vanish Buddha-nature is known directly. Just ... Read more
The Mask
by Fa Ming (of the Garden State)
Published Jun 14, 1999
(writen in resonse to a friend) The mask is placed upon the face,yet envelopes all of me.For, with no disguise, how would your eyeshandle what they see? I am yesterday, tomorrow, today,I am all that will ever exist...the tears you fear, the noise you hear,a long awaited kiss. For you, I bend; to... Read more
Poems by Yao Feng
by Yao Feng (of the Islands)
Published Mar 08, 1999
Swallows Across the threshold of a late afternoonautumn light, a serpentine river of swallows,suspended by angels, swims over our heads,inviting us to cross the veil... Read more
Poems by Yin Zhao Shakya
by Yin Zhao Shakya
Published Jun 08, 1998
Placing the ego in my palmsA smile appears When I gaze between the eyesI become the moon When I stare at the heartbliss fills the body When hisssss tingles the throatI jump into the void When pleasure touches the lapMy hands dance with the rhythm When light fills the headI disappear Read more
Poems by e.j.
by e. j.
Published Apr 07, 1998
Clouds drifting bywrite all that need be saidWhite ink dissolving into blue paperReappeared as sunset rose Fall leaves and rainAgain remind me of this year's passing. Evening swallows turn as oneSky fish bound for a rendevous with nightOne, caught, flutters withinCarrying my heart in magical flight Floating before usBlack waves upon the breezeSwerve... Read more
Nothing to gain
by Than Nguyen
Published Aug 28, 1997
Nothing there to gain.Nothing there to lose.No center nor vastness.Accepting existence and non existenceIs the same as harmonizing within and without;The same as rejecting no evilness and no goodness.Leaving behind the terminology, one enters the true-self.Where is the universe?What is there to say? Read more
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