Zen Turtle

A Zen Turtle


A Zen turtle,
That is where I will begin.
One solitary ascetic box turtle
Sitting in his box,
Meditating through the dark of day and the light of night,
Breaking out his shakuhachi to blow the most beatific beatitudes
to the heavens and earth.

The carefree clouds smiled and beguiled him to play more,
While the carp in the pond
Arose from his doze
To dance in the breeze with glee.

A koan was his best of friends's, this turtle's.
"Well, beloved koan, you have come out of hiding
In the recesses of timelessness,
And I long to learn from your sagacious insight."
A mandarin duck overheard their talk
And marveled at the prosperous poverty
Of being cloistered inside a turtle's shell
With only a riddle for a friend.

The nautical newt arrived one day to seek the awakened way.
Why does he not seek the appearence of his tail before his ancestors were born?
"Come play another silent note on your shakuhachi for me,
O ascetic box turtle.
Let me come nigh your face to touch your saffron Zen."

The turtle intoned, "The sky is sallow yesterday,
Chartreuse tomorrow, and mauve the next day."

"What about today?"

"Why ask? What is today? The only day we can live in,
And its sky is white as a whisper."