Tuesday, July 06, 2004
The Ancient Taoist Abandons His Library
Why should I keep reading
more and more volumes,
piles and stacks mounting
ever skyward?
More and more words
revealing less and less?
Will they become
a ladder to heaven?
Why should I cling
to these wordy prescriptions,
drawn out expositions
of the perfectly obvious?
I have met them all,
the three precepts,
the seven pillars,
the eleven guiding principles.
Yin and yang,
receptive and active,
lover and beloved--
these compose all.
God in the soul dances
and I too make my turns.
I think I will go out
into the garden,
where the moon flowers
float among the buds,
and observe the silvered rose
cradling its silken heart.
Copyright, Dorothy Walters
more and more volumes,
piles and stacks mounting
ever skyward?
More and more words
revealing less and less?
Will they become
a ladder to heaven?
Why should I cling
to these wordy prescriptions,
drawn out expositions
of the perfectly obvious?
I have met them all,
the three precepts,
the seven pillars,
the eleven guiding principles.
Yin and yang,
receptive and active,
lover and beloved--
these compose all.
God in the soul dances
and I too make my turns.
I think I will go out
into the garden,
where the moon flowers
float among the buds,
and observe the silvered rose
cradling its silken heart.
Copyright, Dorothy Walters
