Stephen Jones
Reading Basho
The moon and sun are eternal travelers,he says with a bow to Li Po.Aren’t we all?Even the recluse is a nomad,wandering sun to sun, moon to moon.The only choice is which path:the wide and well-lit highwayto familiar fields,or the dim, narrow road to the interior.How brave the moonto pass through deep shadowswith only the faintpure light of reflection!
Lettuce Spinner — For Jochim
Often, it’s the simplest thingsthat confound us most,like putting away the lettuce spinner.Washed, dried, reassembled,ready for the cabinet shelfI find it too tall for the spacebut fail to see the obvious:invert the lid and it will fit,plunger nestled inside bowl.Instead I press the plunger downuntil the whole contraptionslides in place,its innards spinning madly, pointlessly,like random thoughts and blind passions;spinning long afterI have closed the cabinet door.
The work of Stephen Jones has appeared in Abandon Automobile, a collection of Detroit poets published by Wayne State University Press; the Maxis Review, published by Marygrove College; Poet in the House, a collection published by Broadside Press; and the Detroit Sunday Journal. Stephen is a teacher and journalist and a longtime member of the Detroit Zen Center.
The moon and sun are eternal travelers,he says with a bow to Li Po.Aren’t we all?Even the recluse is a nomad,wandering sun to sun, moon to moon.The only choice is which path:the wide and well-lit highwayto familiar fields,or the dim, narrow road to the interior.How brave the moonto pass through deep shadowswith only the faintpure light of reflection!
Lettuce Spinner — For Jochim
Often, it’s the simplest thingsthat confound us most,like putting away the lettuce spinner.Washed, dried, reassembled,ready for the cabinet shelfI find it too tall for the spacebut fail to see the obvious:invert the lid and it will fit,plunger nestled inside bowl.Instead I press the plunger downuntil the whole contraptionslides in place,its innards spinning madly, pointlessly,like random thoughts and blind passions;spinning long afterI have closed the cabinet door.
The work of Stephen Jones has appeared in Abandon Automobile, a collection of Detroit poets published by Wayne State University Press; the Maxis Review, published by Marygrove College; Poet in the House, a collection published by Broadside Press; and the Detroit Sunday Journal. Stephen is a teacher and journalist and a longtime member of the Detroit Zen Center.