Bonsai of Thought: One Hundred Sixteen

1. God dwells within the mind.
If He were somewhere outside,
life would be a little easier.

2. Between the girl and
all her friends
there's just one thing in common...
they all love being deceived.

3. The sound of a gunshot!
All the birds abandon their branches
and go sit in the sky.

4. Leaves fall...
In the shadows of trees, shadow upon shadow,
the number of wounds multiplies.

5. It's been many days now,
rain no longer comes.
The butterfly flies away
and alights on a paper rose.

6. The bare branches
of leafless trees
stretch out like
beggars' hands toward passersby...

7. Leaves fall
one by one...
The tree's nakedness
looks so obscene.

8. Scattered here and there on the table
are tiny crumbs
of bread and biscuit.
Today is harvest festival for the ants!

9. The overlord of the exploited,
to forget the personal grief
of past exploitation,
exploits the exploited.

10. The babbling sound of the river
brings me before myself
and asks questions.

11. For want of brain,
by nature of muscle...
In the habit of numbers,
in the ugliness of existence.

12. Morning comes.
One rooster crows to announce it;
another rooster hears and crows.

13. Seeing the summer clouds,
the traveler's shadow
stops its rest
and returns to the road...

14. All the shepherd's songs
return to the shepherd himself
in wonderfully beautiful melodies,
striking their heads against stone.

15. Such commotion on Facebook!
But where—oh where—in the book of life!?
I take the beating, stay silent!
I get by, that's why I endure!

16. Summer drought,
farmer's sweat,
field's weeping,
taste of blood.

17. The sun rises...
Our long shadows
gradually grow shorter.

Living with all these thoughts!

18. When storms arise,
I effortlessly pass off
all my harsh rebukes
as gentle songs.

19. What one loses
truly belongs to that one alone.
For the rest, only
assumptions run out.

20. We are truly so poor.
Even a handful of peanuts
we share
with the squirrels.