Yang Chu's Poems # 317

deviant art by athena-chan


YANG CHU’S POEMS #317

With two Zen monks,
Sat as still as stones,
With me by bamboo.

I, a Taoist, said, “Listen to the music
Of the bamboo.”

“That is Maya,” they said.

I said, “Is that so.”

I gazed at the wine
In the hand of a man
Who was surrounded
By friendly gibbons,

The two monks saw me
Gazing, said “Wine is Maya.”

I said, “Is that so.”

I started staring at a girl,
Long, black, glossy hair,
Slender in her tight green silk kimono.”

The two said,
“She is Maya.”

I said, “Is that so.”

Years later we met,
Both the monks
Were called “Masters” now.
They asked me what I had learned
From my meditations and study of the Sutras.

I replied, “Maya is maya.”

“Is that so,” they both
Replied in unison


Duane Locke

Posted over on Vagabondage Press