death koan

i hear the quiet,
the sound of one hand clapping.
i cannot hear you.

i am near the source,
dry flesh and bones drop away
to free the spirit.

below, the clouds pass by.
above, the heavens thunder.
i hear the quiet.


3/31/1991

haiku 33191

buds forming on twigs

gentle rains replacing snow

beginning or end?

3/31/1991

alone, in the forest

i heard the sound of one hand clapping.
alone in the forest,
a peal of thunder was lost amidst the crash
of trees falling in the onslaught of time
as a voice cried out, tentatively,
and the sound of one hand clapping
kept time with the rhythm of the wings
of the flights of fantasy:
man and mind,
nature and time.


2/4/1991