Bonsai of Thoughts: One Hundred Forty-Eight

1. What costs nothing to obtain
is far less precious
than one who works for nothing—
that person is truly valuable.

2. When your pockets are empty,
what is there left to worry about?
When there's nothing to worry about,
what is there left to live for?

3. The poet whose verses
no one seeks to find
is no poet at all!

The poet whose verses
are found before they're even sought—
neither is he a poet!

4. I go in search of water.

Then...
crushing a few wildflowers
beneath the bucket's rim,
I return with water.

5. Black is searching
for white.

Its single desire:
to murder the light
that dwells within white
and transform it into...
either gray,
or stripes.

6. Some have troubled hearts,
others, hearts that trouble.

7. Not everyone is unemployed—
some are haters by profession.

8. Beloved, I never understood before that to love you, you needed someone utterly useless!
Otherwise, I too would have been good for something!

9. Don't ask me what I want anymore.
You'll discover I've been asking you for yourself all along, swallowing every last bit of shame!

10. The boat that clings to the river's breast...day and night,
does even it know the river's sorrows?

11. A man without a lover has neither joy nor sorrow;
he has only life.

12. Some eat,
others squawk.

13. Some stay silent out of love,
others stay silent out of endurance.

14. One who loves you—
if punishment is needed, will punish you.

One who doesn't love you—
if punishment is needed, will punish your heart.

15. I pray for you...constantly.
Whether this keeps you well or not,
it keeps me well.

16. If you harbor grievances,
speak them clearly.
Even harsh decisions are better
than hidden distances.

17. Don't force even your closest friend
to reveal all their secrets.
Surely,
enduring a friend's lies
is far more painful than
the discomfort of not knowing their secrets.

18. One who has endless time—
no one wants their time!
One whose time is desperately scarce—
everyone seeks their time!

19. Study is one thing,
results are another.

20. One who came seeking nothing
has nothing to lose.