poem

 Easter Poem

In his own particular heart

Gutei knew the fundamental

Meaning of Zen as a raised finger.

When his attendant attempted

To convey this idea to a pilgrim

Gutei sliced off the poor boy’s finger

And asked him the old question once again:

What is the meaning of Zen?

And when the boy spontaneously

Tried to raise his missing digit

He became truly enlightened.

This weekend, when we ask the meaning 

Of Easter we look to the cross

And see a man suffering for our sins 

But the meaning of the Christian

Koan is the emptiness of a tomb,

An abandoned shroud tossed

Haphazardly on a dusty slab,

A quaternion of soldiers sent 

To find the ravaged body

And a ragged group of blissful women 

Trying without success

To point in the direction

They believe He went.

4/17/22