each time
the monk passes autumn
his Buddhist robe
is drier than a yellow leaf

Tran Le Khanh, “journey to emptiness” from The Beginning of Water, trans. by Tran Le Khanh and Bruce Weigl. Copyright © 2021 by Tran Le Khanh. Translation copyright © 2021 by Bruce Weigl and Tran Le Khanh. Reprinted with permission of White Pine Press.

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