The Monastic Heart 2 - Statio

Statio is the monastic gift of taking a deep breath between things. 

racing from here to get to there

traffic weaving chaos

busting verge of road rage

blowing stop signs

leaning heavy on the horn

yelling curses at the radio

a side trail

near the recreation path

looking down

a cold creek ravine

taking a deep deep breath

gathering my scattered heart

The Monastic Heart 1 - Bells

The monastic heart is a  heart that goes through life on a wave of common time.

 a bell rings
attention is called

to this moment

a thin slice of a slice 

of the never ending present

in this micro moment

I think of you

and pray

pond hockey

sounds in the forest

continuous popping growl

ice sharp steel shredded

then massive slapshot CLACK 

little voices yelling "goal"

sun sets early

slow snow falls

catching quiet on pine boughs

these are poems

these are poems

pulled from

fading metaphor mist

deep pocket hidden

in phantom robes

words etched and spun

from a mustard seed

or a glimpse

out a frosty windshield

that's all we have here

poems

snippets

knowledge is being trimmed

razors cut up sonnets, and soliloquys

novels become novellas, then snippets, 

then an AI paraphrase

words pronounced.  Correctly!

a chorus of hollow words echo 

in cement block rooms

   they call this "literacy"

classic novels fade yellow

pages fall

to empty bookroom floors

trodden on and swept away

 - slow motion Fahrenheit 451

the tired monk looks on

with sad eyes

and writes a new song

unwound

i)

tattered

ragged Jets cap

sun and sweat bleached

one can barely make out the team colours

in his hands 

a few last remnants

of his wire spool

40 years unwound

project after project

a beautiful metal metaphor

ii)

the sky is grey

pools of water 

a hill of dirty snow melts

a few slow tears fall

a deep gut soul lament

sometime tears are prayers

cul de sac

lights flick on

first the nurse

a dialysis veteran

she greets her firefighter husband

coming off a long...and busy shift

one quick kitchen kiss

then away

more lights 

construction worker

knotting up his boots quick

rushing out the door

helmet, tools, coffee

off with an F150 rumble

then a burst 

light after light pops on

teachers, government workers, 

moms dads school bus kids

dog walkers hustle

a few retirees zip out

newspaper under their arms

7am coffee waits

the sun pops up over

the split ranch house

as the last car leaves 

the cul de sac