Rappin' with Ryokan

[Guest guest]

Rappin with Ryokan

 

Blending with the wind,Snow falls;Blending with the snow,The wind

blows.By the hearthI stretch out my legs,Idling my time awayConfined

in this hut.Counting the days,I find that February, too,Has come and

goneLike a dream.~RyokanAlong the way up thiscold mountain we started

to kiss,later lost track of the count --now my Baby tends tothe wood

stove,I tend to my Baby –Time?~bBuddha preached in the twelve

divisions,each division full of purest truth.East wind -- rain comes

in the night,making all the forest fresh and new.No sutra that does

not save the living,no branch in the forest not visited by

spring.Learn to understand the meaning in them,don't try to decide

which is "valid," which is not.~RyokanWind chimes, mandarins, red

onions, we…Swaying, embraced, one being,love-breathlessburnt to the

eaves,arms four-square in motion,moved to churn, child-like in

caveatsto the moon calling, golden-shouted epithetsof awe and woo,

both, sun-channeledmoon and child, willow-woven hearts'sworn eternal,

swung-swing swoon,chilled dreamless in the edge of the worldunder this

mountain's shadowwhere wind chimes, mandarins, red onions, we…Sway

away one wind being love breathless we.~ MazieLike the little

streamMaking its wayThrough the mossy crevicesI, too, quietlyTurn

clear and transparent~RyokanThis roiling stream sweepsfallen branches

in its way –when will I bedone withthe past?~bMy legacy -What will it

be?Flowers in spring,The cuckoo in summer,And the crimson maplesOf

autumn ...~RyokanFor five years, two dogs, eight catsand a friend

made lover,the plain, black, granite headstonelay quietly writing

beneathmy bedroom window.The vernal equinox etched slowly

past,sketchless, all blank, empty cardboardheart verse, altered

numbers;and the autumnal, it arched by,inarticulate and

impotent,defoliated, branchingin melancholic,naked bones,brittled.But

I broke open, ultramarine,scarlet, gourd;I cracked wide in

goldenrod,bear paw and fern.I chillum-plume'd purple,passion and

awewhen I saw stone go saltand rivers ran fiercebeneath my

window-dream,and in Sheen and SeerI awoke in this life that You

are.Chiseled into my why -Sculptor, sold, Muse -Mirror ash.~MazieHow

can I possibly sleepThis moonlit evening?Come, my friends,Let's sing

and danceAll night long.~RyokanOne taste of this moon winecan drown

two sorrows –self and other.~bThe Three Thousand Worldsthat step

forwardwith the light snow,and the light snow that fallsin those

Three Thousand Worlds.~RyokanO! Beloved One! Snowflake in

delicate,your breath's mist tonight, mixing minein starshine fine and

galaxy silt,and how I melt in You –Ten thousand frozen, mountain

riversrushing to the sea, free wave-riding,moonlight-bridled against

Your breast…~MazieThe wind has settled, the blossoms have

fallen;Birds sing, the mountains grow dark --This is the wondrous

power of Buddhism.~RyokanThe Buddha has fallen, yet in the darka lone

bird's note still manifestsHis wondrous power –the wind, the

manyscattering leaves~bThe thiefLeft it behind -The moon at the

window.~Ryokan

Inside this teacup steam's reading,words roll across centuries

filledwith my Heart's longing to taste You.~Mazie

Once in a whileI just let time wear onleaning against asolitary

pinestanding speechless,as does the wholeuniverse!Ah, who can

sharethis solitude with me?~RyokanA winter moon tonight,shivering

cold,yearning --one withyearning's end.Questions and

answersforsaken,no fire to make tea,all that's left –Cold Mountain

andme,fading intoCold Mountain.~b

The flower invites the butterfly with no-mind;The butterfly visits the

flower with no-mind.The flower opens, the butterfly comes;The

butterfly comes, the flower opens.I don't know others,Others don't

know me.By not-knowing we follow nature's course.~Ryokan

We came to this mountain, temple'din each another,

hand-feeding,meadow-feedingthe Fool in one another.Blossom'd, budding

birthrightin every kiss,in every tender touchand in every long

glance,plum trees planted in This Joywill shed their petalson the

crownsof childrenwho's Mother's nameis Grace.~Mazie

 

 

LoveAlways,

Ryokan, Mazie & b

 

 

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