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Norman Fischer
Slowly but Dearly
ISBN 0-925904-41-4
2004, poetry, 112 pages
$16

From Slowly but Dearly:

ANOTHER PLANET


in tall grasses
we are thinking
of what we are in
sunshine wondering
where we came from
among flowers listening
to sounds of birds, black —
birds trilling lasciviously
extending themselves toward us
beside the pond we are dutifully
imagining what our life will be like
after we are dead and will have no wish to
think or feel or worry about anything anymore
in the sky we fondly speculate about dear loved
ones who are lost far away probably also looking
for us among the tall grasses of our displaced thinking
we who are still thinking beside the pond as the frogs
croak and the cicadas shriek and the owls strangely (because
it is day) hoot as they never have before under the clouds in the trees whose
branches are knocking together in the breeze among the shade of the trees beside
the creek winding by where the willows are gesturing flagrantly in new bud we
are calculating how we’ll spend our remaining days our lifetime storehouse of
gathered information and music sensation and grief: how strange that in these
purported places we mimic
a colorful life we’ve never lived worry about a determining death we’ll never die
scheme out desires we’ll never fulfill sighs we’ll never sigh loves we’ll never love
and dreams too painfully real for our impassioned slumbers

Norman Fischer is co-abbot of the san francisco zen center, where he has practiced for many years. he was ordained as a zen priest in 1980, and teaches Zen regularly in canada and mexico, as well as the bay area. he has published six volumes of poetry, with a seventh, "the narrow roads of japan," a book length travel poem in the manner of basho, out in fall of 1998 from ex nihilo press, san francisco. at work now on his second prose book, a dharma book for and about young people called "taking our places: mentoring young people coming of age." it will be published by broadway books in new york in 2000. "do you want to make something of it" was first delivered as a talk at the art center school of design in pasadena. norman is married and the father of grown twin sons. he lives with his wife kathie near green gulch farm zen center at muir beach.

 

 

 

Norman Fischer

 

 

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