The Buddhist practice is compassion
Life as misery
He sits alone in silence
I eat som tam as well

She's a Chaos
Protect her
LaoTzu
Ishmael

          Rivendell

It's 7:17
Another lonely day
Desperation station
I barely make a dent

If I get the car
Charlotte, maybe Staunton
Eventually Seattle
Then to planes and trains

No real home
Perpetual the motion
Snowfall shunyata
The River in Louisville

3737
Will I be remembered?
Her hair is wavy black
Her eyes are China blue

   Dragonrider, Laotzu

He sees a purple cloud
Moving east to west
He takes it as a sign
LaoTzu will soon appear

My Uber driver
Says he saw Prince in Spain
Best show ever
I hold Prince's music dear

Not quite a hermit.
They know me in this town
I own a car
I fight my fears

Not a celebrity
Not a man of much renown
Books, movies, vinyl
Slowly burning down the years

Humankind's transient glory
My horrible marriage
Wonderful sons
Taipei 101
Sonnet 130. Laughter after Tears.

Red Pine in Washington State
Fine mind to translate

Mystical poetry
Chinese of old

Mythology
Is a strange tale told

Jesus Christ and Laotzu
Both the Way:  not two, not two

What would Irish mystics do?

Well, I told the truth
Didn't help me all that much
Satellite Beach, Florida
Mike, Steve, and Hutch

My son plays basketball
Follows the NBA
I just lay on the couch
Nothing much to say

I was in London twice
Silence is the way I pray
London. Very nice.
Laotzu and the Way

            my my hey hey

But even before books
Toddler Todd in Asia

Taiwan deep in me
Dragons and fantasia

The Buddha and Laotzu
Silent in the forest

Rain upon the rooftops
Xie Xie the silent chorus

My mind like Taipei turning
Absorbing. Open. Porous.

The critic called Red Pine credulous
But I think he's just sympathetic

The mythological is mysterious
And I'm now a diabetic

You fly off on a dragon
To join the true immortals

Laotzu is a sage
The poems are the portals

             Tienmu!