A lesson? -- He asked,
gently
No child, I have none to offer
Perhaps one,
just this one thought
Breathe in
Breathe out
Contemplate on the nature of nothingness
My mother smiled
thankfully
For words of wisdom from a Buddhist monk standing in a quiet corner near Phat Tai Supermarket
For blessing, my mother wanted me
to give the monk a dollar
But I couldn't.
When I wanted to
a few days later I went back
To where the strange monk stood,
And where my mother took off her shoes before respectfully approaching
He wasn't there
Yet, I felt a lesson
Of reaching up
Reaching down
Reaching in
Reaching out
Of how we live between two eternities
Flying round the sun a few
dozens
revolutions
and round and round...
And the dollar intended to be charity
I traded
for a lottery ticket.
September 1994
thai ta
go to next poem out of here