The flash of a cardinal

Flash of red
from bench to tree
A northern cardinal;
Harlem Meer.

Coral beak
Cocky crest;
No shyness
in his breast.

Central Park
On the wall
his lady sits
Ignoring his flash,
disregarding his call.

Resting place

On a journey, ill:
my dream goes wandering
over withered fields
- Basho

My old body:
a drop of dew grown
heavy at the leaf tip
- Kiba, 19th century

Empty-handed I entered the world
Barefoot I leave it.
My coming, my going —
Two simple happenings
That got entangled.
- Zen master Kozan Ichikyo, 1360



Zen and the poetry of death