Pilgrimage Statistics
Days Riding: 140 Consecutive Days Blogging: 122
Today’s Mileage: 8 Total Trip Mileage: 986
Product of a Process!
Today was the first day of my Spring Break. As I drove back from the University I found myself taking an exit that lead, not back to my house, but to a small park along a local river. I have walked along this river in the past, found inspiration in the river scenes and the sounds of water. As I walked I was visited by the following words:
Convoluted Stone
It looks like
Dirty gray blue clay
Ripples and waves
Frozen on its surface
It stands as a testament
To water and time
This Taoist stone
Shaped by a millennium
Of flood waters
The falls upriver
Works on its siblings
As a half dozen geese
Silently flow past
This natural monument
In Taoist artwork a common and powerful image is the convoluted stone, full of holes and hollows eroded by water, whose shape never repeats itself. Its reference always is to the truth of Tao as a reality whose essence is a never ceasing, perpetual, seamless process.
Offerings
I travelled to the river
With nothing
To offer the ducks
But someone
Has left bread crusts
Scattered about the shore
The ducks gave me
Their verbal blessing
As I made my offering
I believe the ducks
Receive offerings like God
It’s the process that counts
Mollusks
Delicate
Symmetrical
Pearly white
Pairs
Joined at the apex
Have tiny fairies
Dropped their wings
To swim
In the swirling pool?
No
It’s the handiwork
Of raccoons
Remains of their
Late night snack
At some junior clams
Expense
I hope you enjoyed these poetic offerings, as the geese enjoyed the bread and I’m assuming the raccoons enjoyed their snack.
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