Monk Fish

these are no tasty monk fish
no koi in my pond
these are bass

reach for a lure
a lucky one

Moon Robes

forest is lit
for this late night walk
fireflies, dim stars
bright moon
matches my robes

Tired Baby Monk

older brothers bashing,
yelling "idiot" - loud
doors slamming
swinging, banging, thudding, wrestling
more yelling
as dad joins the fray
now the dog's a barking

baby monk smiles
and roles up in his robes
sleeps

Baby Monks

pondering trees
photos
pictures on the wall
minutes gazing into the garden,
pond fish swirling
taking everything in
a whole day of - noticing

the genius of baby monks

The Monk's Guitar

the Monk pulls
out his guitar

rusty

like an ancient sword
in need of care

Young Monks

a young monk went missing
found
down by the garden
I bristled and chastised
red faced - shaking robes
tongue whip waving
why aren't you removing suckers,
weeding, picking out rocks - novice?

young monk looked up
I'm picking out the rocks from my heart.

low bow and move on, back to the temple

Fighting Monk

some of the young novices
swing fists
kick bite
sting first so as to not get stung

old robes fly to block, envelop bloody fists
the monk knows
his fists used to rise often

Burning Monk

feet burned
in a sandal pattern
robes are wet through
with sweat and lake water
tonight I'll ride the heat lightning