“The house of self is on fire,” Buddha said, “Get out!”
Meditation— The fire escape For my enflamed mind
Category: No Time for Poetry but Exactly What Is
364 Other Days
People think they are making a big contribution by voting But don’t forget—a year has 364 other days: To come together face to face To get to know each other To name the problems that…
Before Class (Waking Up 101)
In the School of Revolutionary Mindfulness When students arrive early to class No I-Phones are anywhere to be seen In the minutes before class begins Students and teacher are sitting Breathing calmly and smiling
To Do List/73
To cling not to the horrible (“Ach, my suffering, it’s so terrible… Have I told you about it this week?”) To cling not to the beautiful (“Damn! That takes my breath away!”) To light my…
SLU Is
SLU is Tony Albrecht (Law, 2009) SLU is Josh Aranda (A & S, 2009) SLU is Laura Aranda (A & S, 2010) SLU is 783 Facebook friends SLU is 14 years of life SLU is…
Now/here Man
You said, “I don’t seem to fit anywhere” I can relate to that— Fourteen years teaching at the university as a statusless adjunct No tenure No bulging curriculum vitae full of books, articles, papers, conferences,…
Passing
I get a daily Google Alert For Harold Bloom One of my favorite writers I read this morning of a brilliant, gifted, recent Yale graduate Named Marina Keegan Who died Saturday in a car wreck…
That Day at Café Ventana
What I really want to say is Lindsey, thank you For sitting here Sunshining at Café Ventana All those wrist bracelets that have 33 stories behind them All those memories of El Salvador Paralleling my…
Arabic Mantra
When you feel like you’re far from home and you are When you choose to breathe in and breathe out When you approach a preoccupied stranger in the sooq When you see a five-year-old boy…
Thơ
Little Sister At the end of our lesson At the Bread Co on South Grand You gave me a simple assignment: “Write a four-line poem in Vietnamese” You came to this country at age eight…