Zen Poem by RIC BASTASA

and then he
asked about all these things:

must you
have heard about the
ten deaf
dwarfs of
the islands of Acidophiles?

the sound of one hand
clapping on the
hills of
Pedophilisimones?

in his innocence he
prostrates himself upon the ground
and listens
to the ears of the earth
the hands of some roots
buried underneath

it is Zen
and the doZen
and the
froZen moments of
ZenO

He shakes his head
rising up and that is what happens

when he finally gets
his much deserved
Zero, the illegitimate brother
of Zorro.