Greenway Abbey

Greenway Abbey

I stopped enchanted by a pool of trees,
A path that knew its course was false.
Our vision shifted to tree reflections
Calling to be seen, to be followed.

I stood enchanted on the pine forest floor.
A face, two eyes, a nose, looked out from
The nearest - old, chants sent upward,
Branches gone, shorter, longer, green.

I sat enchanted above the river basin.
A morning orchestra of birds bursts sudden.
A dry seat for sound and a visit to
Basho’s beaches, mountains and streams.

I turned to the temptation of nonexistence,
Corn stalk cemetery’s lines of silence.
Up! It's time to walk on in true silence,
No longer grasping for endings.
They will come.
They will go.


Genesee Abbey, April 21, 2007