Autumn Sesshin 2017 – Karen Robbie

Many thanks to Karen Robbie  for sharing these poems about her experiences on the last Crosby sesshin in October and for this image of her painting, Flower.

 

Morning Zazen
The zendo warm and smoky. Glowing with
a candle. I sit on my zafu. The fold of robes
as they fall. Think about words. Letting
them be. Letting everything be. Tired from
the night before. I wake to the sound of geese.

 

Breakfast
Eating porridge stewed apple. Waiting
in line for the toaster. Time lingers.
Without rush. My spirit lifts. A yellow
bird in the courtyard.

 

Supper
Table lined with different jam
bowls of soup, our tired legs.
Tonight it’s beetroot salad.

 

after supper
three more sits
no more squandering