Countenance: Playing

Ah, the marvelous monotony
Of daily life;
Drinking coffee,
I examine the liquid,

And the reflection
In the liquid
Fills me
With wonder;

I fill a Styrofoam cup
With water and place it
In the microwave
To heat it for tea,

And from somewhere unknown,
Happiness overflows
Into this seemingly
Ordinary task;

Then I realize,
I forgot to mix up
Some milk
From the powder,

But in place of
My usual irritation
Experience joyous amazement,
At how this could be so;

What is happening?
Where did this come from?
How long will it last?
I do not know.

But after a while
I forget about that,
And simply notice,
Study
And appreciate thoroughly.

Coterminous: Against the Wall

No matter
How many times
I see clearly,
I go blind again.

Even though
I’ve seen repeatedly how
Facing pain
Leads to bliss,

How confronting disgust
Proceeds through
To neutrality,
And release,

Over-confidence
Leads to despondency
And depression,
And back out once more,

Into happiness,
Even euphoria,
And deep
Contentment;

I keep forgetting,
And stumbling around
In the dark,
Yet again,

Until I find my balance,
Only to lose it,
Or forget about it
Until the next misstep.

But perhaps this is merely
What is meant by continually
Discovering and rediscovering
One’s beginner’s mind,
Or at least, my particular version.

Costumed: Reality in Disguise

Through this moment
Everything is found;
Looking in the mirror
Or a still pool of water,

We may forget the glass
And the water,
But they are
Part of the scene,

Their essence
Is integral
To the view
We see,

And the apparatus
Of our eyes
Is a major ingredient,
As well as the brain;

None is independent
Of the other;
All are indispensable
For creating the picture;

And, through this image,
The other sensations
And impressions,
We find happiness and freedom,

For they dwell
Right before us
In each moment
We experience,

And although we may need to go
Many places in our busy day,
There’s really
No place else to go
To find our heart’s desire.