Master Jingzong; English translation by Fole, edited by Fojin When I was young, I liked staring at a patch of blue sky surrounded by fluffy white clouds. It looked so deep and boundless to me. I was fascinated and could look at it all day. This is my intuitive feeling, as a man on earth, […]
cosmos
The Geometry of Angels and Devils
Inspired by Sir Roger Penrose Colder than black holes, carryingenergy, and then a pop!Afterward is really, really boring. But we will not be around to be bored. Photons will. They won’t be bored at all.Clocks stopped without noticing, such usefulpictures to squash the limits of circles living on the edge.A geometry of angels and […]
Sirius or Capella
Fresh mint is nothingbut clusters of stars,and a screwed top jarmeasures the limit ofman’s contemplation. Just slice the goat’scheese and a singlegalaxy has divided. Decorate the regionof the sky with berries,and blend all the confusion which still exists. Gently fold into thesweetcorn theemissions generated,the mango mixtureof brilliant vindication. George Cassidy Payne is a poet from […]
There is a Hush
There is a hushfrom the beginningof time, where youcan hear yourselfblink. It’s calledimmortality. The rumbling timbers. Those extinct tracks. There is a hush, it is the sound of the desert parsleywithering and thewhimpers of hawksand eagles careeningtowards the earthrise. There is a hush, sunk into the chasms,bringing a curse thatcan never be lifted. George Cassidy Payne is a poet from […]
The Way Galileo Saw It
When I look up I see the quiet survivalof the solar system. I see the outbursts ofconstellations andthe disturbing meaningof the Milky Way. When I look up I see the penetration of thecorona, a universe of stars,the way Galileo saw it, all ionized and catastrophic. George Cassidy Payne is a poet from Rochester, NY. His work has […]
Something Rather Than Nothing
Before slavery,oceans swept awayshadowsof sand pyramids. Before peace,there was just volcanicash on the seabeds- the color of Confederategray, like the eyes of a lost husky. Before the masters of war,there were border walls madeof barren clouds, ribbed and lifeless- above a million stillborn valleys. George Cassidy Payne is a poet from Rochester, NY. His work […]
The Light that Is Too Close
Master Jingzong; translated by Foyi, edited by Fojin We cannot see far if our eyes are too close to the light. When dazzled by light that shines directly at us, our vision is blurred. However, if one stands with the light coming from behind, one can see more clearly. In the Universe, our sun is […]
Far and Near
Master Jingzong; English translation by Foyuan, edited by Jingtu There are many people around us, of similar appearance and speaking the same language. The bonds among them are shallow, however. And the distance separating their inner hearts is farther than the milky way. In other words, though they seem near, their hearts are in fact far apart. […]
Postcard from Raymond: We Never Truly Die
One of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s most eloquent and moving teachings is a summation of Buddhist doctrine about life after death: we do not leave this world until full, total enlightenment. We are integrally part of it and even when our personal time expires on this beautiful but hurting planet, we don’t disappear. […]
Postcard from Raymond: The Unseen is the Real
There is a mysterious, imperceptible force from beyond the observable universe yanking our galaxy in a certain and irresistible direction. We can’t stop it. The cosmic phenomenon known as “dark flow” is controversial, but it describes a flow or peculiar velocity of galaxies towards the Centaurus and Hydra Constellations. The gravitational anomaly called the “Great […]