Tag Archives: Impermanence

Agents of Wear [Free Verse]

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Sun, Rain, Wind,
   & other agents of wear
 that tear down ancient stones
   one grain at a time,

eroding symbolic rocks
   carved with symbols 
   that meant something
   to people in days of yore.

And they mean something
   to people today,
   but whether those meanings 
   match is another question...

Because our understanding 
   of past perspectives 
   is ever eroding:
   just like those rocks,
 but - unlike rock - 
   thoughts and beliefs
   were wisps writ in a
   malleable art: language.

We cling to traditions & lineages,
    but everything is erased.

Before the Fall [Haiku]

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flower-laden tree:
 when next we meet
  will be bare.

Jet Plane [Haiku]

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in early summer,
 i left home. i’ve been back,
  but never returned.

Fleeting Perfection [Haiku]

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low clouds reflected
on still seas; a perfect view
on sunset's timer

After the Quake [Haiku]

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post-quake scaffolds,
on the ancient temples,
teach impermanence

A One-Drop Ocean, Briefly [Tanka]

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waves smash onto rock.
fountain spurts arc skyward.
one droplet hangs
for an instant, flips & drops,
reuniting with its sea.

Prayer Flag Impermanence [Free Verse]

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prayer flags languidly roll
in the courtyard
of the monastery

one monk
has seen the flags
every day since
they were erected

&

before that
saw their predecessors --
sun-bleached and tattered

that monk
 looks upon the flags
as if he's never seen them before
and will never see them again

each monk was taught to think this way,
but he's the only one who sees this way

Stone Buddha [Haiku]

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even the
stone Buddha's smile is
impermanent