I have written poems ever since my college days. It is hard to say why. I never thought of myself as a poet. It is just something that I have been drawn to do. It has been a way to clarify questions. It has been a way to share with other people, to give a poem as a small gift or a wish for well being. It has sometimes just been fun to do.

I live in a rural place and so, many of my poems are filled with images of the forests, streams, mountains and valleys around me. The drama, life and activity of this world is intimately connected with the drama, life and activity of the human-constructed world. All of this is reflected in the poems.

Over the years I found more images, phrases and ideas from my Zen studies creeping into the poems. When I decided to make a collection of the poems that had accrued over the years, it followed naturally to tie this collection in a more explicit way with Zen practice. I chose thirteenth century Japanese Zen Master Eihei Dogen’s “Genjo Koan” as the focus. I broke his work down into about eighty sequential phrases and have used each phrase as a springboard for a poem. This is not a commentary on the “Genjo Koan”. That is better done by professors and Zen teachers. Rather, this is a reflection of how each phrase resonated with me.

You don’t need to know anything about Dogen or Zen to read and hopefully enjoy these poems. If you are interested in the Buddhist connection, that may simply enhance your experience of them.