So somebody and I
were walking down my street
in the slush and the snow
and I noticed that the sun
was traveling the wrong way
so I realized that this was a dream
and I said to the person
"Don't worry about the slush,
it's not real...this is a dream"
and then I decided to fly
as I like to in dreams
when I am awake
and I taught the man with me
to fly and I said "Watch out
for the trees!" and he ran
into one, so we landed
and I thought about
walking through walls
so I approached a house
and tried to walk through
but couldn't, because
I saw that the house
was a painting on canvas.

Taking the morning off
I get to work
on this creation
because the nine
to five existence
is some life
which I think
I can't do
so I don't do it.

Noisy, talking brain
is actually the same
as quiet, still mind
so I can quit worrying
about quieting the thoughts.

Eight minutes
after four
in the morning
and I have accomplished
my nine practices
designed for
the mind, body,
and spirit
so now comes
the daily chore
or trying to find
things to do.

I was at a Zen temple
where there was a person
with a shaved head
wearing a robe
and I couldn't tell
if it was a man or a woman.

Numerology disturbs
my fragile mind
with its meanings
of numbers
which I think
have no real meaning
or use as symbols
or signs
and I seem to have
a built-in bent
ingrained in my head
toward assigning
definitions of meanings
to these homogeneous numbers
even though
my conscious mind
rebels at the thought
so, you know,
when some
sign of a monster
comes popping up
into my life
I get a bit
of a freak-out twinge
but, I know,
nothing ever happens.

The first thought
is the enlightened one
and the second thought
is the Buddha one
and both are bothered
by doubts
so I don't know
which thought to follow

And Bob Dylan sang
"Don't think twice,
It's allright"
but I've been puzzled
about that advice
all my life

so it strikes me
that where I am
is where I am
and what I do
is what I do

it's probably
just perfect
that way
but as a Zen master
said,
"There's still
some room
for improvement!"