Beside a Glass of Water

It is still possible, I see,
to find a shattering dazzle
in a simple thing; the lazy
looseness of liquids
turning in certain weights of light,
in the trembling layers that shine
inside their reflections of the room.

Did the inventor of glass realize
what he'd given us?

I sit at a corner of a long table
and let my pieces of paper and history
find a random rhythm of place
as though the rituals of Dogen's punctuations
are here as well,
echoing in this momentary arrangement
of my transcient clutter.



by jerry gordon
cafe independant, kyoto