018poetry

Searching for My Old Teacher

Still looking for you
in the high reeds near El Salto
small pond in a dry country

You told me I would be safe
no matter where I went
or what happened
Only come back
to the dark house and
the flame lit under the earth

The great mountain you never walked
The Chama River you never saw

In this tremendous world
Still amazed
I found you for a time

Untitled

No inheritance
No family
I’ll die alone with the croaking frogs

I’ve never been so happy

What Is Zen Anyway?

A Japanese corpse
serving tea

Illustration by Chelsea Cardinal