silent retreat
october twenty twenty-three
monchique
*
no entry
no exit point to silence
enter or leave it you cannot
*
in the midst of noise
it never leaves you
it is what carries you
wherever you go
*
it is what carries along everything
unnoticed
unheard
in a silent way
*
in the midst of silence
we are forgetful of it
lest we listen to raindrops
pattering on the roof
to a crow’s cawing as it
flies over treetops
on hillside slopes
*
forgetful of it though
it indwells the deepest
leave it we cannot as
we cannot leave space
*
you step into the dark
from the threshold of the hut
suspended
the morning star
dazzlement of darkness
that twinkle
*
then a shooting star
in the predawn sky
on the narrow trail
flash of a question mark
eternity glimpsed
*
calling
calling echoes of the gong
travel far into the misty valley
*
cottony clouds
adrift over eucalypti
deep bows to the wind
*
hills awash with rains
treading steep country road
flies keep company
*
in a plot by the roadside
pumpkins bask under the heat
late autumn sun
*
broken hives
scattered here and there
bees
nectars of how many summers ago
*
vision dimming
what you no longer can see
rests in the invisible for you
*
still another storm
invited to a thunderous gathering
night before parting
*
week of long sitting
here restless
there restful
changing weather
scenery of the heart
*
traveler gone
journeys continue
coming and going
howling of the wind
pines drooping
*
crickets have cleared out
still you hear their cries
late this evening
*
in the temple
adorned in purple robes
masters long parted
sitting in candle glow
bequeath their warm smile
*
not the steps you take
not the road ahead
where it goes
what counts is
your not knowing
*
the empty hand
carries the dark
carries the light
the giving heart
what is unseen but
freely moves everywhere
*
submerged in a sea of mist
wavy hills
where are you going tonight
*
in the distance
portimão
faint
scintillation of your lights
*
fullmoon
quivers in the pond
among sleeping lilies
*
the erring
this close now to you
no one's erring
just a pulsing in the blood flow
*
daybreak
subdued by rustling branches
the rooster’s call
