old monk

gentle, old monk
reads Lao Tsu
and Winnie the Pooh
listens
to Paul Simon
and Van Morrison,
songs tuned
to tautness
then released
into rhythm

he collects poems
from locals
and other notables
cuts them out of chapbooks
places and pastes them
into scrapbook

draws flowers
and other birds
aloft
on the ceiling
of his solitude

decorates the day
with sweetness
and secret charity --
the strings of yarn
he ties to his fingers
to remember to pray
for all beings