We are part of a family treethat is more than a metaphor.The birds feed off our limbs. And besides, this illness called the Future cannotremain hidden for long.Perhaps more than an enemy, we are something less than that as well. Everything presented to us, we can not seem to find. Everythinggiven to us, we can not seem to hold.Yet selected by the […]
Thinking About the Past
I have recently been thinking quite a lot about the past. I guess that’s what a lot of people do as they grow older. I find myself not only turning over events in my own life (as far as I can remember them) but also increasingly drawn to reading all kinds of history books. We […]
Unconscious of the Changes
Alone and ignored,rolled up like a napkinin a French bistro, zonedout to the blithe, unconditionedair, measuring the breathsof a caving fly, dripping rain, in a word. For in the tent the world losessome of its power. Rising through a web. Is it a Black Widow’s?Beauty above. Beauty below. With everythingout of my breath, holding onto what we have. […]
Like Bees Lost From the Hive
We grew this way, we are this kind of species. The water we bathe in is part of the infinite sky.We grew this way, we are thiskind of species. Always threateningthe precious. We grew this way, we are thiskind of species. Voyaging from eggto babe. Stalked. Drifting. Like beeslost from the hive. George Cassidy Payne is a poet […]
Discovering the Pain of the World by Accident
Are we not a little like the horsesthat drove theRoman chariots? Strangling themselvesthe harder they pull. Or more like iron bladesgrinding the grain,discovering the pain ofthe world by accident. George Cassidy Payne is a poet from Rochester, NY. His work has been included in such publications as the Hazmat Review, Moria Poetry Journal, Chronogram Journal, Ampersand Literary […]
What the Mind Describes
Like a thrown out first draft in a book, the young do not need to belong. They just do or don’t.And the dreams of the young are keptin mildewed cardboard boxes full of meritbadges and plastic trophies from Little League. Egg shell colored. They screech like a leaking faucet.The young are young because they do not think about being young. It […]
A World-Encompassing Meditation
There are those who enjoy sufficiency, comfort, security, health, a light heart, companionship, and freedom of opportunity. And there are those who are drowning in suffering, alone, disconnected. The Awakened exist in a state of peace with themselves, with their environment, and with others. They have defeated defilement and express universal goodwill: May all beings […]
I Wish to Die With a Bit of Humor
Master Jingzong; English translation by Foying, edited by Fojin How should a person die? I wish to die with a bit of humor. Let’s say I might keep secret a few good deeds I had done that were unknown to others; or I might not refute false accusations that I was guilty of certain wrongdoings. […]
M. R. Pimpare: A Full Life and a Rich Legacy
On Monday morning I received the sad news of M. R. Pimpare’s passing just the evening before, on 7 April. He and his family had been fresh on my mind, as we had done an interview for Buddhistdoor Global only a few weeks ago. His life’s passion and enduring love, the ancient caves of Ajanta and […]
More Than an Enemy
More than an enemy, we are that as well.A netherworld of suffering. A hole through the chest,big enough to stick a fist through. We grew this way; we are this kindof species. Under construction. Disembodied. Rising. Like jumbled chunks of sea ice. Becalmed by the ocean.An oracle or ordinary friends, all leaving my world like perfect strangers. George Cassidy Payne is a […]