67 Zen Emptiness Poem by Saiom Shriver

CONTROLLERS

Controllers think
to own when they
plant flags on mountains
Controllers think to
own when they urinate
in public fountains


FOUR CHIMNEYS

Four chimneys in that hearthhome..
one for Santa Claus
.. one with a fire always burning..
one.. by an altar..
and one undisturbed so as not
to bother the nesting stork.

(to all the descendants of
Thomas Marshall)
(a special fireplace.. for which
no miner was harmed.. no tree felled)

EVE ANGEL

Eve angel does
never evangelize
.. but transmuting
power
flows through her eyes

(to EKB)

VANISHING

One need not the
foes of light vanquish.
As the dawn slowly breaks,
they silently vanish.

EGOLESS MIRROR

The mirror reflected
the morning sun.
Dracula said
the mirror had ego.
The tv tower transmitted
its received message
Dracula said
the tv tower had ego.

ARCHIVISTS

Archivists
are wavecounters.

RELEASING THE CHILD

The director has
total power
until opening night
when he must be content
to let go, available
with cues from the wings.

MATE MATTER

The mind's expansion
builds air mansions
as desire causes Spirit
to mate matter.

THROUGH THE FLUTE

Because of the space
in the stem flute
living waters rise
from the roots
to turn into the
juice of mango fruit.
Because of the desirelessness
in the body's chakra'd spine
kundalini rises from the
muladhar
to awaken the sahasrar.

THE POWER OF EMPTY SPACE

The actionless beauty of
the honeysuckle sparks the
actions of the bees.
The blankness of the page
.. the emptiness of the canvass
.. inspire the pen and the brush.
The desirelessness of the Buddha
awakened the love of his disciples.
The matterless space of the
seashore sky
creates the flow of healing.
The charity of the bighearted one
causes the miracle of resurrected energy.
The release of unneeded possessions
molds a vacuum in which solutions come.

JESSICA'S FISH

As a child, Jessica wanted to hug
her fish but knew that would damage
essential scales.
Just so, parents reach a point
in which they let go.

PRISON BUILT OF WISHES

Desire keeps me from my Beloved.
My prison is built of wishes.

ACT WEIGHTLESSLY

Will I ever learn to act
weightlessly
without creating karmic
obligation seeds magnetizing
rebirth?


OMNIPOTENCE OF WISPY DESIRE

One wispy cloud
the infinite sun shrouds
One string ties the balloon
from floating upward to the lune
One unplugging darknes the light
A raindropp so small and slight
can glue the butterfly's wing to the leaf.
Desire rides on rocking horse
and anchored boats it rows.
One rock in the river makes
ebbing eddies in the flow.
From one thread of desire
hangs the curtain of maya.
But wishes gently are released
like ripe fruit from nurturing leaves.

EARTH'S GRAIL

rays of dawn light..
they need not fight
the sunless night
as their beams bright
fill earth's grail
with ageless delight.

TEMPLE DEN

Her lair was empty
because space to her
was a shrine..
the seashore with
uncluttered line

IN MOST NEED

The prisoner who from behind
bars sees spring green flags unfurl
The soldier paraplegic who from
his wheelchair hears the soccer shouts
in the field
The blind man who only hears
the descriptions of dawn fire
God's miracles are coming down the chute
to answer all desires

GOLD CHALICE

The juice is released from the grapefruit rind..
Abandoned, the bright gold chalice has caught
the gift of rain.. communion for possums and raccoons
.. and with what is left she
reflects the sun the stars and moon