I cannot do my work
Because the birds keep saying I love you
They rustle the leaves, they flutter and sing
They come right by my window, carrying twigs to build their nests
Their beautiful bright wings, the way they soar toward their destination.
And then in the space in between,
Afterwards and before the next flight,
The leaves shine so brightly
And the branches seem to be bursting with joy
As if they might explode in light any moment—
The quiet intensity is almost too much to bear.
And now here they come again, flying in the opposite direction
There must be a nest just above my window
Just as eager and intent on the outward journey
Wings spread, everything extended
Alive, alive, alive
Flying out into the sky to find what’s needed next,
Determined to bring back whatever it takes to make a home.
© 2022 Shanti Natania Grace
Photo by Brian McGowan on Unsplash
~~~~~~~~~~~
A man of the Way comes rapping at my brushwood gate,
wants to discuss the essentials of Zen experience.
Don’t take it wrong if this mountain monk’s too lazy to open his mouth:
late spring warblers singing their heart out, a village of drifting petals.
-Jakushitsu Genkō (translated by Burton Watson),
in Burton Watson, “Poems by Jakushitsu Genkō,”
The Rainbow World: Japan in Essays and Translations .
