at the monastery
zero
luckily no wind
Kogaku Roshi shirt off
keeping up with us
though past seventy
suddenly I blurted out
“Gonna leave
wanna write a novel.”
Without warning
he lunged
then had me in a headlock
saying,
“Manifest Absolute Zero.”
Couldn’t manifest anything
hardly breathe
forearm against my throat
unorthodox as always
still could barely breathe
let alone speak
the Buddha’s truth
musta went limp
cause when I awoke
my whole body on snow
staring up
Kogaku Roshi
smiling
finally saying,
“Death
no eyes
tongue teeth
mercy.”
Charles Chaim Wax
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/chopping-wood-in-the-snow/
