the next time
you are reminded
to never forget
ask yourself,
"What have I forgotten?"
was it the forced diaspora of the indigenous
and the enslavement of the other?
or the rise and fall
of the fascist boots of Europe?
the fallen twins
of the American dream?
or the millions dead
from partisan hubris?
as the rusty muscle car
draped in Old Glory
caps the end
of the American parade
ask yourself,
"What have we forgotten?"
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go for the walk that does not take you farther away but rather brings you to the present you have already arrived at this destination so let your Ordinary Mind reside there for a while instead of the past or the unwritten future what do you see in this place? touch, taste? what sounds and smells envelop you? these are all the things that exist in your presence
*published in The Wooden Fish: The No Barriers Zen Newsletter – Spring 2023 Issue 2
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I feel very fortunate
to have found you
all those years ago
by the side of the road
how different my life
would have been
if I had just kept
right on riding past
how many poems
would never have
been written?
who knew that your keys
were my keys
for inspiration?